A rail trail is the conversion of a disused railway track into a multi-use path, typically for walking, cycling and sometimes horse riding and snowmobiling. The characteristics of abandoned railways—flat, long, frequently running through historical areas—are appealing for various developments. The term sometimes also covers trails running alongside working railways; these are called "rails with trails". Some shared trails are segregated, with the segregation achieved with or without separation. Many rail trails are long-distance trails.

The only carrier to exist in Bermuda folded in 1948 and was converted to a rail trail in 1984. Some of the former right of way has been converted for automobile traffic, but 18 miles are reserved for pedestrian use and bicycles on paved portions.[1] The rail bed spans the length of the island, and connected Hamilton to St. George's and several villages, though several bridges are derelict, causing the trail to be fragmented.

Following the abandonment of the Prince Edward Island Railway in 1989, the government of Prince Edward Island purchased the right-of-way to the entire railway system. The Confederation Trail was developed as a tip-to-tip walking/cycling gravel rail trail which doubles as a monitored and groomed snowmobile trail during the winter months, operated by the PEI Snowmobile Association.

In central Ontario, the former Victoria Railway line, which runs 89 kilometres (55 mi) from the town of Lindsay, Ontario north to the village of Haliburton, in Haliburton County, serves as a public recreation trail. It can be used for cross country skiing, walking, and snowmobiling in the winter months, and walking, cycling, and horse riding from spring to autumn. The majority of the rail trail passes through sparsely populated areas of the Canadian Shield, with historic trestle bridges crossing several rivers.

A railroad between Gateway Road and Raleigh Street in Winnipeg, Manitoba was turned into a 7 km (4.3 mi) asphalt trail in 2007. It is called the Northeast Pioneers Greenway, and has plans for expansion into East St. Paul, and eventually to Birds Hill Park.[3]

A considerable part of the Trans Canada Trail are repurposed defunct rail lines donated to provincial governments by CP and CN rail rebuilt as walking trails. The main section runs along the southern areas of Canada connecting most of Canada's major cities and most populous areas. There is also a long northern arm which runs through Alberta to Edmonton and then up through northern British Columbia to Yukon. The Trail is multi-use and depending on the section may allow hikers, bicyclists, horseback riders, cross country skiers and snowmobilers.

In North America, the decades-long consolidation of the rail industry led to the closure of a number of uneconomical branch lines and redundant mainlines. Some were maintained as short line railways, but many others were abandoned. The Hot Springs Branch is one example of this. It is being developed into the Jackson River Scenic Trail in the Alleghany County area of Virginia.

By the 1970s, even main lines were being sold or abandoned. This was especially true when regional rail lines merged and streamlined their operations. As both the supply of potential trails increased and awareness of the possibilities rose, state governments, municipalities, conservation authorities, and private organizations bought the rail corridors to create, expand or link green spaces. The first abandoned rail corridor in the United States converted into a recreational trail was the Elroy-Sparta State Trail in Wisconsin, which opened in 1967. The following year the Illinois Prairie Path opened. The longest developed rail trail is currently the 240 miles (390 km) Katy Trail in Missouri.[4] When complete, the Cowboy Trail in Nebraska will become the longest, extending for 321 miles (517 km).[5][6]

The Beltline, in Atlanta, Georgia, is currently under construction. In 2030, its anticipated year of completion, it will be one of the longest continuous trails. The Atlanta BeltLine is a sustainable redevelopment project that will provide a network of public parks, multi-use trails and transit along a historic 22-mile railroad corridor circling downtown and connecting many neighborhoods directly to each other.[7]

The conversion of rails to trails hastened with the federal government passing legislation promoting the use of railbanking for abandoned railroad corridors in 1983 which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1990.[5] This process preserves rail corridors for possible future rail use with interim use as a trail.

The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is a nationwide nonprofit group that advocates for rail trails and has many documents and advice on building a rail trail. Per their records, the U.S. currently has 22,107 miles of rail trail complete. Michigan has the most total mileage (2,381) of any state, as of 2015.[8]

Germany has the largest number of rail trails in Europe,[9] with 677 rail trails with a total length of 5,020 kilometres (3,120 mi) (as at February 2015).[10] 80 more projects are being planned or under construction. Some of the longest rail trails are in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. These are the Maare-Mosel-Radweg with 39 kilometres (24 mi) on the old rail track, the Ruwer-Hochwald-Radweg with 44 kilometres (27 mi) on the old rail track and the Schinderhannes-Radweg with 36 kilometres (22 mi) on the old track of the Hunsrück Railway.

With almost 150 tracks in use, the United Kingdom has the second-largest network of rail trails in Europe after Germany.[9] The development of rail trails in the United Kingdom grew after a major programme of railway line closures in the 1960s known as the Beeching cuts. The scheme, named after the then chairman of British RailwaysDr. Richard Beeching, decommissioned approximately 5,000 miles (8,000 km) of railway lines all over Great Britain. Many rural and suburban lines were closed along with selected main line trunk routes.[11] Since then, approximately 1,200–2,200 miles (1,900–3,500 km) of disused railway lines in Britain have been converted to public leisure purposes, and today the majority of rail trails are maintained by either the local authority or charitable organisations such as Sustrans, the Railway Ramblers or Railway Paths.[9]

With more than 2,500 kilometers of rail trails (Via Verde)[13] in a network of 117 cycling and walking itineraries, Spain ranks high in the European greenways scene. The trails are managed or coordinated by the Spanish Railways Foundation, and institution created in 1985. Many of the converted tracks were originally built for the mining industry, connecting remote mountain sites with port locations on the coast, now offering picturesque rides from wild interior landscapes to the seaside. [14]

Cuts to Ireland's once expansive rail network in the mid 20th century left Ireland with a vast network of disused railways. While many lines were ripped up and the sections of the land acquired by private owners, a number of former railways do exist intact, thus providing the option for the development of many rail trails in the future.

Planning permission has been granted to redevelop the former Galway to Clifden railway into a greenway,[16] but negotiations are still underway with landowners regarding its routing.[17] A section of the Waterford, Limerick and Western Railway railway line, from Claremorris to Collooney has been touted for redevelopment as a greenway, but has met with some recent opposition from groups wishing for the redevelopment of the former railway itself.[18]

A former railway tunnel, near Houyet, Belgium, now converted to pedestrian and bicycle use

The RAVeL network in Belgium combines converted tracks, byways and towpaths, adding up to a total of 1,200 km (750 mi) , a significant figure considering the size of the country. The gradient is never more than six per cent, and the tracks are open to all forms of non-motorised travellers, including cyclists, horse-riders, hikers and even roller-bladers.[19]

The development of rail trails in southeastern Australia can be traced to the gold rushes of the second half of the 19th century. Dozens of rail lines sprang up, aided by the overly enthusiastic "Octopus Act", but soon became unprofitable as the gold ran out, leading to a decreased demand for timber in turn. Decades later, these easements found a new use as tourist drawcards, once converted to rail trails. Dozens exist in some form, like the 37-kilometre (23 mi) Port Fairy to Warrnambool Rail Trail,[20] but only a few — such as the 95-kilometre (59 mi) Murray to the Mountains Rail Trail — have been fully developed. Progress is frequently hampered by trestle bridges in unsafe condition, easements that have been sold off to farmers, and lack of funds. Funding is typically contributed in roughly equal parts from federal, state, and local governments, with voluntary labour and in kind donations contributed by local groups.[21]
The latest addition to the Rail Trail scene in Victoria is The Great Victorian Rail Trail which is the longest rail trail in Victoria covering 134 km (83 mi). It has become popular with tourists as it meanders through steep valleys and open farm country. The Rail Trails Australia website is a good source of local information. about trails in Australia.[22]

A number of rail trails have been established through New Zealand; the best known are the Hauraki Rail Trail (linking Thames, Paeroa, Te Aroha and Waikino/Waihi), Otago Central Rail Trail and the Little River Rail Trail. The New Zealand Cycle Trail project, a Government-led initiative, will greatly accelerate the establishment of new trails. The first seven projects (not all of them rail trails, though) were announced in July 2009 and will receive NZ$9 million in funding of the total project budget of NZ$50 million.[23]

On 24 May 2010, the Singapore and Malaysia governments agreed[24] to move the Singapore terminus of the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) from the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station in southern Singapore to Woodlands in northern Singapore. This resulted in the railway lines in Singapore becoming surplus as the Woodland terminus is just over the border from Malaysia. Government agencies such as the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) have taken responsibility for developing and implementing ideas and activities for the former rail lands. The URA has a dedicated web site on Rail Corridor.[25] An example of activities permitted include Street Art on a section of the disused railway, supported by the SLA, URA, Land Transport Authority and the National Arts Council (Singapore).[26]

The disused railway consists of the main line from the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station to Woodlands, extending either 24 km (15 mi)[27] or 26 km (16 mi)[28] , depending on the source. There is also the Jurong spur line, 14 km (8.7 mi) in length.[29] The area occupied by the railways is at least 80 ha (200 acres), and up to 173.7 ha (429 acres) when the land around the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station and other nodes are included.[29] Given the location of the railway lands in land scarce Singapore, there was concern that the lands would be developed. Organisations such as the Nature Society Singapore developed comprehensive plans to maintain the rail lands for nature-related pursuits.[29] The Green Corridor web site is a campaign website dedicated to preserving its natural form.

Rail trail conversions can be complex for legal, social, and economic reasons.[citation needed] Railroads in North America were often built with a mix of purchased land, government land grants, and easements. The land deeds can be over a hundred years old, land grants might be conditional upon continuous operation of the line, and easements may have expired, all expensive and difficult issues to determine at law.

Railroad property rights have often been poorly defined and sporadically enforced, with neighboring property owners intentionally or accidentally using land they do not own. Such encroachers often later oppose a rail to trail conversion. Even residents who are not encroaching on railway lands may oppose conversion on the grounds of increased traffic in the area and the possibility of a decline in personal security. Because linear corridors of land are only valuable if they are intact, special laws regulate the abandonment of a railroad corridor. In the United States, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) regulates railroads, and can allow a corridor to be "rail banked" or placed on hold for possible conversion back to active status when or if future need demands.

While many rail trails have been built, other proposals have been cancelled by community opposition. The stature of the conversion organization, community involvement, and government willingness are key factors.

On the other hand, there are a growing number of cases where existing rails and infrastructure, in service or not, are being called to be torn up for trails. Two cases of this are in New York State, against the Catskill Mountain Railroad in Kingston, New York,[33] and the Adirondack Scenic Railroad in Old Forge, New York.[34] In Connecticut, the not-in-service section of track on the Valley Railroad has been proposed by locals to be converted to trail.[35] Though perceived by residents to be, as it has not carried a train since the 1960s, the railroad has never been formally abandoned. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection acquired the line from Penn Central in 1969, and subsequently signed a long-term lease with the railroad. The railroad has been continually working to bring this section of the line back into service. Both Departments strongly support the preservation of the line, and have provided support to the railroad with property encroachment from abutters and the provision of railroad ties.[36] All three of these examples are heritage railroads, which serve to protect the history of the railroad. Their primary revenue is tourist operations, so rail traffic is seasonal; though all three have been granted rights to carry freight, should customers show interest.

Though rare, there are several cases in which trails convert back to active railroads. One example occurred in 2012 in Clarence, Pennsylvania, where the R.J. Corman Railroad Company received permission to rebuild 20 miles (32 km) to serve a landfill. Conrail had abandoned the line in 1990, and 10 miles (16 km) had since been conveyed to the Snow Shoe Rails to Trails.[37][38]

Most original rail lines were surveyed for ease of transport and gentle (often less than 2%) grades. Therefore, the rail trails that succeeded them are often fairly straight and ideally suited to overcome steep or awkward terrain such as hills, escarpments, rivers, swamps, etc. Rail trails often share space with linear utilities such as pipelines, electrical transmission wires, and telephone lines.

Most purchase of railway land is dictated by the free market value of the land, so that land in urban and industrial cores is often impractical to purchase and convert. Therefore, rail trails may end on the fringes of urban areas or near industrial areas and resume later, as discontinuous portions of the same rail line, separated by unaffordable or inappropriate land.

A railroad right-of-way (easement) width varies based on the terrain, with a 100 feet (30 m) width being ample enough where little surface grading is required.[39] The initial 705 miles (1,135 km) stretch of the Illinois Central Railroad is the most liberal in the world with a width of 200 feet (61 m) along the whole length of the line.[40] Rail trails are often graded and covered in gravel or crushed stone, although some are paved with asphalt and others are left as dirt. Where rail bridges are incorporated into the trail, the only alterations (if any) tend to be adding solid walking areas on top of ties or trestles, though bridges in poorer condition do receive new guardrails, paint, and reinforcement. If paved, they are especially suitable for people who use wheelchairs.

Railbanking is preserving railroad rights-of-way for possible future use. Railbanking leaves the tracks, bridges, and other infrastructure intact, relieving the railroad operating company from responsibility of maintenance and taxation. Often the tracks are put in custody of a state transportation agency, who then seeks a new operator for possible rehab or reactivation. This helps ensure the possibility of future restored rail service when new economic conditions may warrant resuming operation.

In places with many environmental laws and other governmental regulations as the United States, it is very difficult to restore an abandoned line, but it is easier with a railbanked line than one that has undergone a "total abandonment", as the Federal government guarantees the railroad the full rights to reactivate it. A railbanked line can be reopened within a year's time while an abandoned corridor could take years to be reactivated, if it was even possible. In railbanking, the government helps fund the line's rebuild. 14,184 miles (22,827 km) of railroad have been abandoned in the 25-year period from 1983 to 2008.[41] Of that, 8,056.5 miles (12,965.7 km), representing 56.8% of the lines abandoned in the past 25 years, were originally negotiated for railbanking agreements.[41]

21% of those railbanking agreements failed; that is, they were ultimately abandoned. 5,079 miles (8,174 km) of those originally negotiated 8,056.5 miles (12,965.7 km) actually reached a railbanking agreement, representing 35.8% of the lines abandoned during the 25-year period.[41] The remaining 43.2% of the lines, representing 6,127.5 miles (9,861.3 km), were lines that railroads never considered trying to have railbanked, and were abandoned in their entirety. In total, 9,105 miles (14,653 km) of the 14,184 miles (22,827 km) abandoned during the 25-year period were not railbanked (64.2%).[41] Some railroads refuse to railbank lines, and instead sell the land in parcels to the surrounding landowners.[41]

Since railbanking began in 1983, nine railbanked corridors have been approved for reactivation by the STB. Some of these reactivated corridors had only short sections reactivated, while others had the entire corridor reactivated. Two of these approved have not yet been reopened, though both are in the process (as of March 2010).[42][43] Railbanked corridors are usually utilized as multi-use recreational trails for cyclists, walkers, joggers, snowmobiling, cross country skiing, and horseback riding.[41][42][43][44][45]

The land over which railways pass may have many owners—private, rail operator, or governmental—and, depending on the terms under which it was originally acquired, the type of operating rights may also vary. Without rail banking, on closure, some parts of a railway's route might otherwise revert to the former owner. The owner could reuse them for any purpose, or modify the ground conditions, potentially prejudicing the line's future reuse if required. However, the landowner must agree to keep the infrastructure such as bridges and tunnels intact.

Approximately 85% of the railroad rights-of-way in the United States[46] were acquired by easement from the then-abutting property owners. Normally, when the use for an easement is abandoned, the easement is extinguished and the land is not burdened by this adverse use. In 1983, Congress passed what is now known as the federal Rails-To-Trails law codified as 16 U.S.C. 1247(d). The federal law took the property rights of property owners throughout the United States for rail trails. Several property owners sued the government as the law took property without compensation. In 1990, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the property owners were entitled to compensation for the land taken for these rail trails.[47] In 1996, the plaintiff was awarded $1.5 million as compensation for the land taken for a trail through his property (see Preseault v. U.S., 100 F3d 1525, Fed. Cir. [1996]).

The state of Connecticut has taken a proactive approach to preserving railway right-of-ways. Since the 1970s, Connecticut Department of Transportation policy has been to acquire abandoned rail lines for preservation. This has contributed to the majority of railroad mileage in Connecticut to be publicly owned, between the state and Amtrak.[48] Today, this policy continues; the State will purchase any RoW that shows future potential for transportation, when the property becomes available.[36] CDOT has subsequently transferred 60 miles of RoW to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for use in rail trails, and CDEEP itself has independently obtained another 50 miles (22 of which are used for the Valley Railroad). A provision of this transfer is that CDOT is allowed to retake ownership of a right-of-way when needed for transportation purposes.[36] Because of this, Connecticut is one of the only states where railbanked corridors have a reasonable chance of reactivation (should there be a need to), where elsewhere local opposition from trail users and property abutters would be able to directly influence a municipally-owned right-of-way.

Often, most of or all infrastructure is removed regardless to future use. Laws have been passed to remove infrastructure, in some case. For example, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a law was made to remove all unused railroad overpasses.[41] Another example is a natural disaster. If a flood washes away a railbanked railroad bridge, that is beyond the owner's control. The local, state, and Federal governments could give some financial help for the railroad to rebuild any infrastructure that may have been damaged or destroyed during the time that it was unused.[41]

A single section of a route changed in this way could have serious consequences for the viability of a restoration of a service, with the costs of repurchasing the land or right-of-way or of restoring the site to its former condition outweighing the economic benefit. Over the full length of a railway's route with many different owners, the reopening costs could be considerable.

By designating the route as railbanked, these complications are avoided and the costs of maintaining a right-of-way are removed from the railway operator. In the United States, land transferred to rail banks is held by the state or federal governments and many rail banks have been reused as rail trails.

In the United Kingdom, thousands of miles (kilometers) of railway were closed under the Beeching Axe cuts in the 1960s and while several of these routes have subsequently been reopened, none were formally treated as land banks in the US manner. The Beeching closures were driven by the government's desire to reduce expenditure on railways, and so most lines were offered for sale to the highest bidder, a process which frequently led to great fragmentation in the ownership of former UK railway lines.

Spencer, D. M. (2010). "Segmenting special interest visitors to a destination region based on the volume of their expenditures: an application to rail-trail users". Journal of Vacation Marketing. 16 (2): 83–95. doi:10.1177/1356766709357486.

1.
East Gippsland Rail Trail
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The East Gippsland Rail Trail is a rail trail located in East Gippsland in Victoria, Australia. The trail is a cycling route, beginning in Bairnsdale and extending to Orbost. The Bairnsdale-Orbost railway was opened in 1916 to serve the agricultural and timber industry, due to the decline in traffic and heavy operating costs, the line was finally closed in August 1987 and the track infrastructure removed in 1994. The shared trail is available for walkers and recreational horseriding. The trail is 96 kilometres long and passes through a variety of forest, parts of the trail are accessible to any bicycle, but significant sections are suitable only for mountain bikes or sturdy hybrid bikes. Water and most facilities are available in these towns, so trail users are required to be self-sufficient. The trail follows the long gradual inclines and sweeping curves of the railway line. Along its route it passes the railway stations and/or sidings at Nicholson, Bumberrah, Mossiface, Bruthen, Colquhoun, Nowa Nowa, Tostaree, Waygara. The East Gippsland Rail Trail does not officially begin at the Bairnsdale railway station due to the poor condition of the old rail bridge over the Mitchell River. The trail begins on the side of the Princes Highway opposite the Howitt Park sports grounds at McEacharn Street. The rail trail is accessible from the town via the road or footpath on the Princes Highway road bridge across the river, toilets and good car parking facilities are available in the main section of Howitt Park on the north side of Princes Highway. The trail travels east from Bairnsdale following the route of the old railway line, there are distant views of the Gippsland Lakes in some sections, and a number of crossings of minor roads are required, as well an unsigned crossing of the Princes Highway. The surface is sealed with asphalt and is in fair to good condition as far as the Nicholson River bridge in Nicholson,9 km from the start of the route. The bridge is the railway bridge across the river, now sealed with concrete. The trail passes just to the north of the Nicholson township, access to the town itself can be gained either by turning south at the Nicholson-Sarsfield Road, or by following a minor track along the west side of the Nicholson River. Toilets, water and barbecue facilities are available at the Nicholson boat ramp on the west bank of the river to the south of the Princes Highway, the rail trail crosses the Nicholson River on the former railway bridge. The bridge surface has been sealed with concrete and affords excellent views, beyond the bridge the track surface becomes smooth gravel and heads inland away from the Princes Highway. From Bumberrah the trail travels 8.5 km on to Mossiface, passing through various cuttings, fills and tunnels from the old rail route

2.
Victoria (Australia)
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Victoria is a state in southeast Australia. Victoria is Australias most densely populated state and its second-most populous state overall, most of its population is concentrated in the area surrounding Port Phillip Bay, which includes the metropolitan area of its state capital and largest city, Melbourne, Australias second-largest city. Prior to British European settlement, the area now constituting Victoria was inhabited by a number of Aboriginal peoples. With Great Britain having claimed the entire Australian continent east of the 135th meridian east in 1788, Victoria was included in the wider colony of New South Wales. The first settlement in the area occurred in 1803 at Sullivan Bay, and much of what is now Victoria was included in the Port Phillip District in 1836, Victoria was officially created as a separate colony in 1851, and achieved self-government in 1855. Politically, Victoria has 37 seats in the Australian House of Representatives and 12 seats in the Australian Senate, at state level, the Parliament of Victoria consists of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. Victoria is currently governed by the Labor Party, with Daniel Andrews the current Premier, the personal representative of the Queen of Australia in the state is the Governor of Victoria, currently Linda Dessau. Local government is concentrated in 79 municipal districts, including 33 cities, although a number of unincorporated areas still exist, Victorias total gross state product is ranked second in Australia, although Victoria is ranked fourth in terms of GSP per capita because of its limited mining activity. Culturally, Melbourne is home to a number of museums, art galleries and theatres and is described as the sporting capital of Australia. The Melbourne Cricket Ground is the largest stadium in Australia, and the host of the 1956 Summer Olympics, Victoria has eight public universities, with the oldest, the University of Melbourne, having been founded in 1853. Victoria, like Queensland, was named after Queen Victoria, who had been on the British throne for 14 years when the colony was established in 1851. The first British settlement in the later known as Victoria was established in October 1803 under Lieutenant-Governor David Collins at Sullivan Bay on Port Phillip. In the year 1826 Colonel Stewart, Captain S. Wright, fly and the brigs Dragon and Amity, took a number of convicts and a small force composed of detachments of the 3rd and 93rd regiments. Victorias next settlement was at Portland, on the south west coast of what is now Victoria, edward Henty settled Portland Bay in 1834. Melbourne was founded in 1835 by John Batman, who set up a base in Indented Head, from settlement the region around Melbourne was known as the Port Phillip District, a separately administered part of New South Wales. Shortly after the now known as Geelong was surveyed by Assistant Surveyor W. H. Smythe. And in 1838 Geelong was officially declared a town, despite earlier white settlements dating back to 1826, days later, still in 1851 gold was discovered near Ballarat, and subsequently at Bendigo. Later discoveries occurred at sites across Victoria

3.
Australia
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Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the worlds sixth-largest country by total area, the neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east. Australias capital is Canberra, and its largest urban area is Sydney, for about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored, on 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states. The population of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard, Australia has the worlds 13th-largest economy and ninth-highest per capita income. With the second-highest human development index globally, the country highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom. The name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere since ancient times, the Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south. On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted, in 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia. The first official published use of the term Australia came with the 1830 publication of The Australia Directory and these first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists, the northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia. The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutch navigator, Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent New Holland during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement. William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688, in 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration, a British settlement was established in Van Diemens Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the part of Western Australia in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales, South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, the Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia

4.
Rail transport
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Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, also known as tracks. It is also referred to as train transport. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles run on a flat surface. Tracks usually consist of rails, installed on ties and ballast, on which the rolling stock, usually fitted with metal wheels. Other variations are possible, such as slab track, where the rails are fastened to a concrete foundation resting on a prepared subsurface. Rolling stock in a transport system generally encounters lower frictional resistance than road vehicles, so passenger. The operation is carried out by a company, providing transport between train stations or freight customer facilities. Power is provided by locomotives which either draw electric power from a railway system or produce their own power. Most tracks are accompanied by a signalling system, Railways are a safe land transport system when compared to other forms of transport. The oldest, man-hauled railways date back to the 6th century BC, with Periander, one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Rail transport blossomed after the British development of the steam locomotive as a viable source of power in the 19th centuries. With steam engines, one could construct mainline railways, which were a key component of the Industrial Revolution, also, railways reduced the costs of shipping, and allowed for fewer lost goods, compared with water transport, which faced occasional sinking of ships. The change from canals to railways allowed for markets in which prices varied very little from city to city. In the 1880s, electrified trains were introduced, and also the first tramways, starting during the 1940s, the non-electrified railways in most countries had their steam locomotives replaced by diesel-electric locomotives, with the process being almost complete by 2000. During the 1960s, electrified high-speed railway systems were introduced in Japan, other forms of guided ground transport outside the traditional railway definitions, such as monorail or maglev, have been tried but have seen limited use. The history of the growth, decline and restoration to use of transport can be divided up into several discrete periods defined by the principal means of motive power used. The earliest evidence of a railway was a 6-kilometre Diolkos wagonway, trucks pushed by slaves ran in grooves in limestone, which provided the track element. The Diolkos operated for over 600 years, Railways began reappearing in Europe after the Dark Ages. The earliest known record of a railway in Europe from this period is a window in the Minster of Freiburg im Breisgau in Germany

5.
Abandoned railway
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An abandoned railroad is a railway line which is no longer used for that purpose. Such lines may be disused railways, closed railways, former railway lines, some have had all their track and sleepers removed, and others have material remaining from the former use. There are many hundreds of these throughout the world, thousands of miles of railroads have been abandoned in the United States, much of it in the 40 years from 1965 to 2005. The right of way which has established for such a line makes it useful for other transport. For example, in 1936, farmers in Aldrich, Missouri, found uses for the land. The abandoned railway stations on the line may be put to other use too. Many old lines have stopped making a profit, the decision to abandon a line may be taken by a railway company or by government, as with the Beeching cuts in Great Britain in the 1960s. Railways specially built for mines or other industrial or logistical sites are abandoned if the mine is exhausted or the production ceases, War can also lead to abandonment. In former Finnish Karelia, changes of borders due to World War 2 in 1945 led to several railways being abandoned or even demolished by their taker, a railway could become international, and without a border checkpoint, the line would become useless. Bizarrely, Finland was obliged to keep the Laurila–Kelloselkä track open as a peace treaty article, although it was never used for international traffic, but only for local lumber transport. Before the war, the track ended in Kemijärvi,270 km from the border, however, when a metal thief stole 1.7 km of track in 2008, the government declared it was no longer required to maintain the track. It was last used in 2010, railroads have been abandoned in the United States due to historical and economic factors. Railroad mileage within the U. S. reached its peak in the mid-1910s and these and other factors have implicitly created thousands of miles of abandoned railroad corridors that criss-cross the nation. A few abandoned railways have been rebuilt and used as active railroad routes once again. S, fallen flag – a North American railroader and railfan term referring to railroad company no longer in existence due to bankruptcy or merger. When the Railroad Leaves Town, American Communities in the Age of Rail Line Abandonment, kirksville, MO, Truman State University Press. Abandoned Railway Becomes Hiking, Biking Trail, Abandoned Railway Line Becomes Safety Concern. Railway Walks, Circular Walks Along Abandoned Railway Lines in Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire, ISBN1873877617 Hiker Discovers Railroad History Hidden In Columbia Gorge Video produced by Oregon Field Guide Media related to Former railway lines at Wikimedia Commons

6.
Rails with trails
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Rails with trails are a small subset of rail trails in which a railway right-of-way remains in use by trains yet also has a parallel recreational trail. Hundreds of kilometers of RWTs exist in Canada, Europe, the United States, in the United States the number of rails with trails is increasing. As of 2000, there were 1,000 rail trails in operation nationwide, of those,60 were rails with trails, up from 37 in 1996. Thus, on average United States rail trails are 11 miles long, a poorly designed RWT will compromise safety and function for both trail users and the railroad. Footpath LACMTA Orange Line Rail trail Sidewalk Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, rails-with-Trails, Design, Management, and Operating Characteristics of 61 Trails along Active Rail Lines

7.
Trail
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A trail is usually a path, track or unpaved lane or road, though the term is also applied, in North America, to routes along rivers, and sometimes to highways. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland path or footpath is the term for a walking trail. There are also unpaved trails used by dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles, in some places, like the Alps, trails are used for moving cattle and other livestock. In the US, the term was used for a route into or through wild territory used by emigrants. In Australia, the track can be used interchangeably with trail. Walkway is used similarly in St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada, in the United Kingdom, the term trail is in common usage. Longer distance walking routes, and government-promoted long distance paths, collectively known as National Trails, are frequently called ways, as in the Pennine Way. Generally the term footpath is preferred for pedestrian routes, including long distance trails, track is used for wider paths, often used for hiking. The terms bridleway, byway, restricted byway are all recognised legal terms, the increased popularity of mountain biking has led to a proliferation of mountain bike trails in many countries. Often these will be grouped to form complexes, known as trail centers. A particularly unusual use of the term is in the Canadian province of Alberta, Shared use may be achieved by sharing a trail easement, but within it maintaining segregated and sometimes also separated trail treads. This is common in rail trails, Shared use may also refer to alternate day arrangements, whereby two uses are segregated by being permitted on alternate days. The Trans Canada Trail can be used by hikers, walkers, cyclists, horseback riders, the network makes use of towpaths on river banks and disused railway or vicinal tramway lines. Old railway lines have been leased by the Walloon Government for 99 years using emphyteutic lease contracts, where necessary, new paths are created to link parts of the network. Thus the right to cycle exists even though it may be difficult to exercise on occasion, Cyclists using a bridleway are obliged to give way to other users on foot or horseback. The seawall in Stanley Park, Vancouver, Canada is popular for walking, running, cycling, there are two paths, one for skaters and cyclists and the other for pedestrians. The lane for cyclists and skaters goes one-way in a counterclockwise loop, foreshoreway is a term used in Australia for a type of greenway that provides a public right-of-way along the edge of the sea open to both walkers and cyclists. A forest road is a type of access road, built mainly for the forest industry

8.
Long-distance trail
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Long-distance trails are the longer recreational trails mainly through rural areas, used for non-motorized recreational travelling. Typically, a trail, way or path will be at least 50 km long, but some in Britain are several hundred miles long. In some countries, official trails will have the specially prepared to make the going easier. In the UK long-distance paths are usually existing rights of way joined together to make a named route, generally the surface is not especially prepared except in special places such as converted rail tracks, or some busy hilly areas where stone slabs are laid to prevent erosion. These have been constructed mainly for bicycle touring, some are restricted to use by only non-motorized bikes while others are multi-use recreational. Long-distance cycling routes often range in length from hundreds of such as Australias Munda Biddi Trail, or thousands of miles. There are trails that follow the towpaths of canal systems, a good example is the 525-mile New York State Canal System in New York. There also numerous routes that can be followed in Europe, which are suitable for walkers, cyclists, a shorter example is the Gold Coast Oceanway in Australia. The Wales Coast Path is an 870 miles long-distance walking route around the whole coast of Wales from Chepstow to Queensferry, the England Coast Path, currently in development by Natural England and expected to be complete in 2020, will be around 4,500 kilometres long. It will become Britains longest National Trail and these may be cross-country paths, or may follow roads, or other ways, and often intersect with many other trails in the process. The American Discovery Trail crosses the continental United States from east to west, the Iditarod Trail, at over 1,000 miles, spans Alaska and connects the coastal cities of Seward and Nome. The 220-mile Michigan Shore-to-Shore Trail crosses the state from one Great Lakes shore to another, many long-distance trails have sections suitable for horse riding, and a few are suitable for horse riding throughout their length, or have been developed primarily for horse riding. This non-motorised trail runs the length of the rugged Great Dividing Range through national parks, private property, the Bicentennial National Trail is suitable for self-reliant horse riders, fit walkers and mountain bike riders. In the United Kingdom the British Horse Society is developing a network of trails known as the National Bridleroute Network. A number of long-distance multi-use trails have created in England, including three National Trails, the Pennine Bridleway,192 km, The Ridgeway,139 km. Rail trails/paths are shared-use paths that make use of abandoned railway corridors, there are also rails with trails in the USA that follow working rail tracks. Most rail trails have a gravel or dirt surface and can be used for walking, cycling, the following description comes from Australia, but is applicable equally to other rail trails that exist throughout the world. Following the route of the railways, they cut through hills, under roads, over embankments and across gullies, apart from being great places to walk, cycle or horse ride, rail trails are linear conservation corridors protecting native plants and animals

9.
Light rail
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Light rail, light rail transit or fast tram is urban public transport using rolling stock similar to a tramway, but operating at a higher capacity, and often on an exclusive right-of-way. A few light rail networks tend to have closer to rapid transit or even commuter rail. Other light rail networks are tram-like in nature and partially operate on streets, Light rail systems are found throughout the world, on all inhabited continents. They have been popular in recent years due to their lower capital costs. The term light rail was coined in 1972 by the U. S, Urban Mass Transportation Administration to describe new streetcar transformations that were taking place in Europe and the United States. In Germany the term Stadtbahn was used to describe the concept, and many in UMTA wanted to adopt the direct translation, however, UMTA finally adopted the term light rail instead. Light in this context is used in the sense of intended for light loads and fast movement, the infrastructure investment is also usually lighter than would be found for a heavy rail system. The Transportation Research Board defined light rail in 1977 as a mode of urban transportation utilizing predominantly reserved, electrically propelled rail vehicles operate singly or in trains. LRT provides a range of passenger capabilities and performance characteristics at moderate costs. Light rail is a generic international English phrase for these types of rail systems, the use of the generic term light rail avoids some serious incompatibilities between British and American English. The word trolley is used as a synonym for streetcar in the United States. A further difference arose because, while Britain abandoned all of its trams except Blackpool after World War II, when these cities upgraded to new technology, they called it light rail to differentiate it from their existing streetcars since some continued to operate both the old and new systems. Conventional rail technologies including high-speed, freight, commuter/regional, and metro/subway/elevated urban transit systems are considered heavy rail, people movers and personal rapid transit are even lighter, at least in terms of capacity. Monorail is a technology that has been more successful in specialized services than in a commuter transit role. Due to varying definitions, it is hard to distinguish between what is called light rail, and other forms of urban and commuter rail, a system described as light rail in one city may be considered to be a streetcar or tram system in another. Conversely, some lines that are called light rail are in very similar to rapid transit, in recent years. Some light rail systems, such as Sprinter, bear little similarity to urban rail, in the United States, light rail has become a catch-all term to describe a wide variety of passenger rail systems. There is a significant difference in cost between these different classes of light rail transit, tram-like systems are often less expensive than metro-like systems by a factor of two or more

10.
Tram
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A tram is a rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets, and also sometimes on a segregated right of way. The lines or networks operated by tramcars are called tramways, Tramways powered by electricity, the most common type historically, were once called electric street railways. However, trams were used in urban areas before the universal adoption of electrification. Tram lines may run between cities and/or towns, and/or partially grade-separated even in the cities. Very occasionally, trams also carry freight, Tram vehicles are usually lighter and shorter than conventional trains and rapid transit trains, but the size of trams is rapidly increasing. Some trams may also run on railway tracks, a tramway may be upgraded to a light rail or a rapid transit line. For all these reasons, the differences between the modes of rail transportation are often indistinct. In the United States, the tram has sometimes been used for rubber-tired trackless trains. Today, most trams use electrical power, usually fed by a pantograph, in some cases by a sliding shoe on a third rail. If necessary, they may have dual power systems — electricity in city streets, trams are now included in the wider term light rail, which also includes segregated systems. The English terms tram and tramway are derived from the Scots word tram, referring respectively to a type of truck used in coal mines and the tracks on which they ran. The word tram probably derived from Middle Flemish trame, a Romanesque word meaning the beam or shaft of a barrow or sledge, the identical word la trame with the meaning crossbeam is also used in the French language. The word Tram-car is attested from 1873, although the terms tram and tramway have been adopted by many languages, they are not used universally in English, North Americans prefer streetcar, trolley, or trolleycar. The term streetcar is first recorded in 1840, and originally referred to horsecars, when electrification came, Americans began to speak of trolleycars or later, trolleys. The troller design frequently fell off the wires, and was replaced by other more reliable devices. The terms trolley pole and trolley wheel both derive from the troller, Modern trams often have an overhead pantograph mechanical linkage to connect to power, abandoning the trolley pole altogether. Conventional diesel tourist buses decorated to look like streetcars are sometimes called trolleys in the US, the term may also apply to an aerial ropeway, e. g. the Roosevelt Island Tramway. Over time, the trolley has fallen into informal use

11.
Greenway (landscape)
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A greenway is a strip of undeveloped land near an urban area, set aside for recreational use or environmental protection. A greenway is a trail, found in urban and rural settings, that is frequently created, out of a disused railway, canal towpath, utility, or similar right of way. Rail trails are one of the most common forms of greenway, in Southern England the term also refers to ancient trackways or green lanes, especially those found on chalk downlands, like the Ridgeway. Some greenways include community gardens as well as typical park-style landscaping of trees and they also tend to have a mostly contiguous pathway. Greenways resemble linear parks, but the latter are found in an urban and suburban environment. Tom Turner analyzed greenways in London, looking for patterns among successful examples. He was inspired by the pattern language technique of architect Christopher Alexander, Turner concluded there are seven types, or patterns, of greenway which he named, parkway, blueway, paveway, glazeway, skyway, ecoway and cycleway. These routes should meet satisfactory standards of width, gradient and surface condition to ensure that they are both user-friendly and low-risk for users of all abilities. Charles Little, describes five general types of greenways, Urban riverside greenways, usually created as part of a redevelopment program along neglected, often run-down, city waterfronts. Recreational greenways, featuring paths and trails of various kinds, often relatively long distance, based on natural corridors as well as canals, abandoned rail beds, and public rights-of-way. Ecologically significant natural corridors, usually along rivers and streams and less often ridgelines, to provide for wildlife migration and species interchange, nature study, Greenways are vegetated, linear, and multi-purpose. They incorporate a footpath or bikeway within a linear park, in urban design they are a component of planning for bicycle commuting and walkability. Greenways are found in areas as well as urban. Corridors redeveloped as greenways often travel through both city and country, connecting them together, however, most examples are in Europe and North America. In Australia, a foreshoreway is a greenway that provides a public right-of-way along the edge of the sea, foreshoreways include oceanways, and resemble promenades and boardwalks. Foreshoreways are usually concerned with the idea of sustainable transport and the term is used to avoid the suggestion that the route favours either pedestrians or cyclists, a foreshoreway is accessible to both pedestrians and cyclists and gives them the opportunity to move unimpeded along the seashore. Dead end paths that offer public access only to the ocean are not part of a foreshoreway, the network includes 36 kilometres of poor, medium and high quality pathways. Others include, The Chicago Lakefront Trail, the Dubai Marina, the East River Greenway, New Plymouth Coastal Walkway, public rights of way frequently exist on the foreshore of beaches throughout the world

12.
Linear park
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A linear park is a park in an urban or suburban setting that is substantially longer than it is wide. They are also described as greenways. In Australia, a park along the coast is known as a foreshoreway. Possibly the earliest example is the Emerald Necklace, which consists of a 1, 100-acre, or 445 hectare chain of parks linked by parkways and waterways in Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts, US. It gets its name from the way the planned chain appears to hang from the neck of the Boston peninsula and this linear system of parks was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted to connect Boston Common and Public Garden to Franklin Park, known as the great country park. The project began around 1878 with the effort to clean up and control the area which became the Back Bay. In 1880, Olmsted proposed that the Muddy River, be included in the park plan, the current was dredged into a winding stream and directed into the Charles River. Olmsteds vision of a park of walking paths along a gentle stream connecting numerous small ponds was complete by the turn of the century. However, the subsequent development of the automobile severely disrupted the original concept, later in England linear parks have also been created around waterways, especially in cities where the terrain is such that rivers and brooks have significant flood plains. Such land cannot sensibly be used for development and so is set aside as a civic amenity. Greater Londons largest park, Lee Valley Park is more than four times the size of Richmond Park, extending beyond Greater Londons borders into the counties of Hertfordshire. A more recent example of a park is the Berlin Mauerpark. Another example is Planty Park, Kraków, Poland) and it encircles the Stare Miasto, where the Medieval city walls used to stand until the early 19th century. The park has an area of 52 acres and a length of 4 kilometers and it consists of a chain of thirty smaller gardens designed in varied styles and adorned with numerous monuments and fountains. The park forms a scenic walkway popular with Cracovians, in summer, sprinkled with ponds and refreshment stalls, it is a cool and shady retreat from the nearby bustling streets. In some cities, many linear parks run through residential areas, examples are numerous in some Canadian cities such as Saskatoon. C. West Virginia, and Maryland Embarcadero, San Francisco, California Pastor Willie James Ford, Sr

13.
Bermuda Railway
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The Bermuda Railway was a 21. 7-mile common carrier line that operated in Bermuda for a brief period. Construction and maintenance proved to be costly, as the Bermuda Railway was built along a coastal route to minimize the amount of land acquisition needed for the right-of-way. In so doing, however, extensive trestles and bridgework were necessary, more than 10 percent of the line was elevated on 33 separate structures of timber or steel construction spanning the ocean. In addition, the proximity to the ocean made rot and corrosion a significant problem and this, along with the introduction of private automobiles to the island after World War II, would ultimately doom the line. The Bermuda Railway was a single-track, standard-gauge line with 14 passing sidings, construction began in 1926, two years after the Bermuda government granted a 40-year charter to the Bermuda Railway Company, but was not completed until 1931. The initial cost of construction and rolling stock purchase was about B$40 million and it was said to be one of the most expensive rail lines built, at a cost-per-mile of B$2 million. The new venture also acquired a few cars and, during World War II. Two classes of passenger accommodations were offered, first-class or Pullman, with wicker chairs. Regular passenger service began between Hamilton and Somerset on October 31,1931, operating from 6 a. m. to midnight at one- to two-hour intervals, operations began between Hamilton and St George on December 19,1931. Bermuda Railway trains were used in the 1930s by commuters, schoolchildren. Tourists in particular enjoyed the spectacularly scenic ride alongside the oceans edge, special sightseeing excursions were run for cruise ship passengers. The large number of wooden trestles were found to have deteriorated significantly, meanwhile, passenger volume fell by more than half between 1946 and 1947 on the Rattle and Shake, as the line came to be known, due to patrons switching to automobile travel. After 17 years of operation, the last train ran on May 1,1948, the rolling stock was later shipped to British Guiana, where they continued to run for several more years in the 1950s. In 1984,18 miles of the rail lines right-of-way were dedicated as the Bermuda Railway Trail for hiking and, on some paved portions. A small Bermuda Railway museum operated in the old Aquarium Railway Station, the museum closed shortly before the death of the owner in 2011. Transport in Bermuda Raine, David F. Rattle and Shake, Bermuda Railway — Bermuda Online, history and photographs Bermuda Railway Net, history and photographs Bermuda Dept. of Tourism

14.
Bermuda
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Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 1,070 km east-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina,1,236 km south of Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia, Bermuda is an associate member of Caribbean Community. The first person known to have reached Bermuda was the Spanish sea captain Juan de Bermúdez in 1503 and he claimed the islands for the Spanish Empire. Bermúdez never landed on the islands, but made two visits to the archipelago, of which he created a recognisable map, shipwrecked Portuguese mariners are now thought to have been responsible for the 1543 inscription on Portuguese Rock. Subsequent Spanish or other European parties are believed to have released pigs there, the island was administered as an extension of Virginia by the Company until 1614. Its spin-off, the Somers Isles Company, took over in 1615, at that time, the companys charter was revoked, and the English Crown took over administration. The islands became a British colony following the 1707 unification of the parliaments of Scotland and England, after 1949, when Newfoundland became part of Canada, Bermuda became the oldest remaining British Overseas Territory. Since the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997, it is the most populous Territory and its first capital, St. Georges, was established in 1612 and is the oldest continuously inhabited English town in the New World. Bermudas economy is based on insurance and reinsurance, and tourism. Bermuda had one of the worlds highest GDP per capita for most of the 20th century, recently, its economic status has been affected by the global recession. The island is in the belt and prone to severe weather. However, it is protected from the full force of a hurricane by the coral reef that surrounds the island. It is 898 nautical miles northeast of Miami, Florida, and 667 nautical miles from Cape Sable Island, in Nova Scotia, Canada. The islands lie due east of Fripp Island, South Carolina, west-northwest of Cape Verde, southeast of New York City, New York, north-northwest of Brazil and north of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The archipelago is formed by points on the rim of the caldera of a submarine volcano that forms a seamount. The volcano is one part of a range that was formed as part of the process that formed the floor of the Atlantic. It has 103 km of coastline, the two incorporated municipalities in Bermuda are the City of Hamilton and the Town of St George. Bermuda is divided into nine parishes, which have some localities called villages, such as Flatts Village, although usually referred to in the singular, the territory consists of 181 islands, with a total area of 53.3 square kilometres

15.
Hamilton, Bermuda
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Hamilton is the capital of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It is the financial centre and a major port and tourist destination. Its population of 1,010 is one of the smallest of any capital cites, the Colonys capital relocated to Hamilton from St. Georges in 1815. The City has been at the political and military heart of Bermuda ever since, the Town of Hamilton became a City in 1897, ahead of the consecration in 1911 of the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity, which was under construction at the time. A Catholic cathedral, St. Theresas, was later constructed, today, the city overlooking Hamilton Harbour is primarily a business district, with few structures other than office buildings and shops. The City of Hamilton has long maintained a building height and view limit, in the 21st century, buildings have been planned and some are under construction that are as high as 10 stories in this area. Bermudas local newspaper, The Royal Gazette, reports If you dont recognise the city, from 15 years ago, Hamilton is located on the north side of Hamilton Harbour, and is Bermudas main port. Although there is a parish of the name, the city of Hamilton is in the parish of Pembroke. The City is named after Sir Henry Hamilton, governor from 1786 to 1793, the administrative capital of Bermuda, Hamilton has a limited permanent population of approximately 1,010, however,13,340 work here on a daily basis. The only incorporated city in Bermuda, Hamilton is smaller than the town of St. Georges. A more representative measure of Bermuda local residential populations tends to be by parish, finance and international business constitute the largest sector of Bermudas economy, and virtually all of this business takes place within the borders of Hamilton. Numerous leading international insurance companies are based in Hamilton, as it is a global reinsurance centre, around 400 internationally owned and operated businesses are physically based in Bermuda, and many are represented by the Association of Bermuda International Companies. In total, over 1,500 exempted or international companies are registered with the Registrar of Companies in Bermuda. Its low corporate tax rate makes it attractive to US companies, in addition, the corporate headquarters of the Bermuda grocery store chain The MarketPlace is located within the chains Hamilton MarketPlace location, the largest grocery store in Bermuda. This shield is supported by a mermaid and heraldic sea horse, the shield is topped by a crest featuring a closed helm topped with a torque above which an heraldic seahorse is emerging from the sea holding a flower. The citys full motto is Hamilton sparsa collegit, the citys flag is a banner of arms, featuring the same details as on the shield of the citys coat of arms, but with the flowers in white rather than gold. The city of Hamilton has many parks for its size, probably the most notable park in the city is Victoria Park. This park occupies a block and was named after the former Queen Victoria

16.
St. George's, Bermuda
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St. Georges, located on the island and within the parish of the same names, settled in 1612, was the first permanent English settlement on the islands of Bermuda. Bermudian convention, where a toponym contains the name of a person, is to render the name in the possessive form. The place is rarely treated as equivalent to the person, the possessive form is also used for titles, as with Collectors Hill. The use of the form is not exclusive, however, as exemplified by place names such as the names of most of the parishes, such as Hamilton Parish, Devonshire Parish. Some of these exceptions may have originated with changed syntax, as Devonshire Parish may originally have been The Parish of Devonshire and this is seen with the City of Hamilton. By example, Bermudians will always say St. Georges and St. Davids are the largest islands in St. Georges Parish, originally called New London, St. Georges was first settled in 1612. This was three years after the first English settlers landed on St. Georges Island on their way to Virginia, led by Admiral Sir George Somers and Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Gates, they had deliberately steered their ship, the Sea Venture, onto a reef to escape a storm. The survivors built two new ships, the Deliverance and Patience, and most continued their voyage to Jamestown, two men remained behind to maintain the companys possession of the archipelago. By the Virginia Companys Third Charter in 1612, the boundaries of the new colony were extended out to sea to include Bermuda, the company sent a party of 60 new settlers to Bermuda to join the three men left behind by the Sea Venture. After a brief period on neighbouring St. Davids, the settlers started building structures at St. Georges, in 1615, the shareholders of the Virginia Company created a second company, the Somers Isles Company. It administered Bermuda separately until the company was dissolved in 1686 and this small town was the capital of Bermuda until 1815, it was linked to the history of colonial America. Ten thousand Bermudians emigrated, primarily to Virginia and the American Southeast, branches of wealthy Bermudian merchant families dominated trade in the areas ports. Bermudians settled towns in the South, and contributed greatly to the make up of the populations of several US states, as Bermudas population centre, and only true port during this period, St. Georges was connected to development in the North American colonies. The powder was carried over the hill to Tobacco Bay, from where boats transported it to an American ship that lay offshore, during the American Civil War, some British from St. Georges evaded coastal blockades to provide supplies and munitions to the desperate Confederates. This trade was based in St. Georges, Kings Square forms the centre of St Georges, where regular 17th-century re-enactments are held throughout the year. Excavations carried out by Bristol University and the Bermuda National Trust discovered the foundations here of the original 1612 governors house, the Bermuda National Trust Museum is located on the square. Ordnance Island in St. Georges Harbour, is situated south of Kings Square and it holds a replica of the Deliverance, and a life-sized statue of Admiral of the Virginia Company, Sir George Somers, by Desmond Fountain. Somers, along with Sir Thomas Gates, had led the survivors of the 1609 wreck, the town has numerous historical sites, such as the old State House from 1620

17.
Kettle Valley Rail Trail
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The Kettle Valley Rail Trail is a multi-use recreational rail trail located in the Okanagan-Boundary region of southern British Columbia. The trail uses a rail corridor that was built for the now-abandoned Kettle Valley Railway. The trail was developed during the 1990s after the Canadian Pacific Railway abandoned train service, one of the most popular sections of the Kettle Valley Rail Trail is the section through Myra Canyon. Myra Canyon is located south of Kelowna on Okanagan Mountain, the section of line originally transited between Midway and Penticton. When the railway was built, the section of railway between Myra station and June Springs station required 18 wooden trestles and two tunnels in order to traverse the deep canyon. For years after the abandonment of this section of rail line, years of disrepair on the trestles began to take its toll on the line. In some cases vandals had removed railway ties on the steel bridges. In some cases hikers and cyclists wanting to cross the trestles would be required to walk on sections of steel no wider than a foot across in sections where the ties were removed. This would not normally be an issue, but many of these trestles and bridges were hundreds of feet in height, however, after a fatal accident involving a cyclist on one of the trestles, many people petitioned to have the bridges and trestles made safer. These upgrades included repairs after numerous years of disrepair, and the installation of handrails and this section of the railway was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2002. From August to September 2003, lightning sparked the 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park Fire in Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park and this fire rapidly grew in strength and size and made its way Southeast across Okanagan Mountain. This fire engulfed many portions of the KVR between Penticton and McCulloch Lake, after a valiant fight by the firefighters, the fire unfortunately claimed 12 of the 18 trestles within Myra Canyon. In addition, the decks of two of the metal bridges were also destroyed in the fire. Soon after the Okanagan Mountain Park Fire in 2003, the B. C provincial government announced that it would rebuild the damaged and destroyed trestles and bridges, restoration of the trail was completed, with an official re-opening ceremony held June 22,2008. In addition, safety improvements including clearing and rock face stabilization along the line have taken place, Kettle Valley Railway Kettle Valley Steam Railway Pentictons Official Tourism Site

18.
British Columbia
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British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada, with a population of more than four million people located between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. British Columbia is also a component of the Pacific Northwest and the Cascadia bioregion, along with the U. S. states of Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. The first British settlement in the area was Fort Victoria, established in 1843, subsequently, on the mainland, the Colony of British Columbia was founded by Richard Clement Moody and the Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment, in response to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush. Port Moody is named after him, in 1866, Vancouver Island became part of the colony of British Columbia, and Victoria became the united colonys capital. In 1871, British Columbia became the province of Canada. Its Latin motto is Splendor sine occasu, the capital of British Columbia remains Victoria, the fifteenth-largest metropolitan region in Canada, named for the Queen who created the original European colonies. The largest city is Vancouver, the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada, the largest in Western Canada, in October 2013, British Columbia had an estimated population of 4,606,371. British Columbia evolved from British possessions that were established in what is now British Columbia by 1871, First Nations, the original inhabitants of the land, have a history of at least 10,000 years in the area. Today there are few treaties and the question of Aboriginal Title, notably, the Tsilhqotin Nation has established Aboriginal title to a portion of their territory, as a result of the recent Supreme Court of Canada decision. BCs economy is diverse, with service producing industries accounting for the largest portion of the provinces GDP and it is the endpoint of transcontinental railways, and the site of major Pacific ports that enable international trade. Though less than 5% of its vast 944,735 km2 land is arable and its climate encourages outdoor recreation and tourism, though its economic mainstay has long been resource extraction, principally logging, farming, and mining. Vancouver, the provinces largest city and metropolitan area, also serves as the headquarters of many western-based natural resource companies and it also benefits from a strong housing market and a per capita income well above the national average. The Northern Interior region has a climate with very cold winters. The climate of Vancouver is by far the mildest winter climate of the major Canadian cities, the provinces name was chosen by Queen Victoria, when the Colony of British Columbia, i. e. the Mainland, became a British colony in 1858. The current southern border of British Columbia was established by the 1846 Oregon Treaty, British Columbias land area is 944,735 square kilometres. British Columbias rugged coastline stretches for more than 27,000 kilometres and it is the only province in Canada that borders the Pacific Ocean. British Columbias capital is Victoria, located at the tip of Vancouver Island. Only a narrow strip of the Island, from Campbell River to Victoria, is significantly populated, much of the western part of Vancouver Island and the rest of the coast is covered by thick, tall and sometimes impenetrable temperate rainforest

19.
Kettle Valley Railway
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The Kettle Valley Railroad was a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway that operated in the Thompson-Okanagan region of southern British Columbia. It opened in 1915 and was abandoned in portions beginning in 1961, the Kettle Valley Railroad was built out of necessity to service the growing mining demands in the Southern Interior region of British Columbia. This selected routing was significantly to the north of the towns within the Southern Interior. However, geography was the reason the CPR followed the transcontinental railroad route that it had selected. Too many mountain ranges stood between Alberta and Vancouver in the portions of British Columbia, and CPR had selected what they felt was the path of least resistance. Once silver was discovered within the region in the spring of 1887, thousands of Americans flooded into the B. C. s Southern Interior, and essentially took control of the region. These miners quickly found that it was quicker and cheaper to get their supplies from the recently completed Northern Pacific Railroad that transited through Spokane. Once word caught on, British Columbias Southern Interior essentially became an annex of the United States. The route selected involved connecting the railroad with Vancouver, however, this was not an easy task, as two mountain ranges stood in the way. Construction was some of the costliest per track mile when compared against most other North American railroad projects, costing almost $20 million, construction of the railroad was not undertaken all at once, or even by one single company. In the process of realizing a completed Coast-to-Kootenay railroad, a number of paper railroads emerged and these were railroads that never progressed beyond the proposed stage. However some railroads did progress past the proposal stage, the CPR initiated the Nicola Valley Railroad in the early 1890s. This railroad connected the town of Merritt with the CPR mainline at Spences Bridge, the Midway & Vernon Railroad was a paper railroad that actually started construction. It was hoped that the Midway & Vernon railroad would connect Midway with Vernon, however due to funding issues, construction on this railroad was stopped. However portions of the railroad grade were included in the Kettle Valley Railroad when the section between Penticton and Midway was completed. The core portion of the Kettle Valley Railroad started in Hope, transited through Brookmere, Tulameen, Princeton, Summerland, Penticton, Beaverdell, an additional branch line connected to Spences Bridge, and Merritt. Additional spur lines connected Copper Mountain with Princeton, Osoyoos, in addition, the Columbia & Western Railway from Midway, through Grand Forks continuing though to Cranbrook was also periodically referred to as portions of the KVR as well. The railroad was primarily in a mile-for-mile battle with the Vancouver, Victoria

20.
Canadian Pacific Railway
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The Canadian Pacific Railway, also known formerly as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railroad incorporated in 1881. The railroad is owned by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a restructuring in 2001. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, it owns approximately 20,000 kilometres of track all across Canada and into the United States, stretching from Montreal to Vancouver, and as far north as Edmonton. Its rail network also serves Minneapolis-St. Paul, Milwaukee, Detroit, Chicago, the railway was originally built between Eastern Canada and British Columbia between 1881 and 1885, fulfilling a promise extended to British Columbia when it entered Confederation in 1871. It was Canadas first transcontinental railway, but no longer reaches the Atlantic coast, the CPR became one of the largest and most powerful companies in Canada, a position it held as late as 1975. Its primary passenger services were eliminated in 1986, after being assumed by Via Rail Canada in 1978, a beaver was chosen as the railways logo because it is the national symbol of Canada and was seen as representing the hardworking character of the company. The company acquired two American lines in 2009, the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad and the Iowa, Chicago, the trackage of the ICE was at one time part of CP subsidiary Soo Line and predecessor line The Milwaukee Road. It is publicly traded on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CP and its U. S. headquarters are in Minneapolis. The creation of the Canadian Pacific Railway was a task undertaken for a combination of reasons by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald. He was helped by Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt, who was the owner of the North Western Coal and his company went through several name changes during the process of the construction of the railway. British Columbia, a sea voyage away from the East Coast, had insisted upon a land transport link to the East as a condition for joining Confederation. The government however proposed to build a railway linking the Pacific province to the Eastern provinces within 10 years of 20 July 1871, Macdonald saw it as essential to the creation of a unified Canadian nation that would stretch across the continent. Moreover, manufacturing interests in Quebec and Ontario wanted access to raw materials, the first obstacle to its construction was political. The logical route went through the American Midwest and the city of Chicago, to ensure this routing, the government offered huge incentives including vast grants of land in the West. Because of this scandal, the Conservative Party was removed from office in 1873, surveying was carried out during the first years of a number of alternative routes in this virgin territory followed by construction of a telegraph along the lines that had been agreed upon. The Thunder Bay section linking Lake Superior to Winnipeg was commenced in 1875, by 1880, around 1,000 kilometres was nearly complete, mainly across the troublesome Canadian Shield terrain, with trains running on only 500 kilometres of track. With Macdonalds return to power on 16 October 1878, an aggressive construction policy was adopted. Macdonald confirmed that Port Moody would be the terminus of the transcontinental railway, in 1879, the federal government floated bonds in London and called for tenders to construct the 206 km section of the railway from Yale, British Columbia, to Savonas Ferry, on Kamloops Lake

21.
Newfoundland Railway
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The Newfoundland Railway was a railway which operated on the island of Newfoundland from 1898 to 1988. With a total length of 906 miles, it was the longest 3 ft 6 in narrow gauge railway system in North America. In 1880, a committee of the Newfoundland Legislature recommended that a gauge railway be built from the colonial capital in St. Johns to Halls Bay,547 km to the west. Construction was started on the Avalon Peninsula in August 1881 by the Blackman Syndicate, by 1884, the Newfoundland Railway Company had built 92 km west to Whitbourne before going into receivership. The bondholders of the bankrupt Newfoundland Railway Company continued to build a 43 km branch line from Whitbourne to Harbour Grace, the colonial government undertook to build a branch from the junction at Whitbourne to the port of Placentia between 1886 and 1888. The route itself was diverted inland up the Exploits valley and over the Gaff Topsails and this extension to the system was initially operated as the Newfoundland Northern and Western Railway and for it, Reid was granted land totaling 13 km²/km. The new line west to Port aux Basques was completed between 1894 and 1898, at the same time, Reid proposed a ferry service across the Cabot Strait from Port aux Basques to North Sydney, Nova Scotia, and contracted for a steamship to be built in England. The Bruce arrived in the fall of 1897, before the line was completed to Port aux Basques, on 29 June 1898 the first passenger train arrived at Port aux Basques and the Bruce set sail with passengers for North Sydney. The Reid company agreed to operate the lines for 50 years, in exchange for outright ownership and they also purchased the government drydock in St. Johns and the telegraph system. The Reid company purchased eight new steamships to operate as coastal ferries around the island, controversy followed the awarding of so many assets to Reid, and in 1901 the contracts were modified to place everything under a limited liability corporation, named the Reid Newfoundland Company. Reids railway development in the colony began to attract attention to the potential of the natural resources. In 1903, the Reids partnered with a St. Johns businessman, Harry J. Crowe, to purchase timber rights in Botwood, Norris Arm, Gambo, Gander Bay, Botwood was expanded through the construction of deepwater wharves and warehouses for shipping the finished pulp. To link the two, AND built the narrow gauge Botwood Railway beginning in 1908 and completing it in 1909 and it would later be renamed the Grand Falls Central Railway. Reid died in 1908 but his company set the pace for development in Newfoundlands interior mining and forestry industries, in 1909 and into the 1910s, the colonial government contracted for additional branch lines to be built. Some of the lands that had belonged to the Reid Newfoundland Company were used by the government as part of a deal to develop a pulp, the railway was initially called the Newfoundland Government Railway but was soon shortened to the Newfoundland Railway in 1926. It would remain the property of the government until Confederation on April 1,1949 when it was transferred to the federal governments Canadian National Railway. 137 passengers lost their lives and only 104 people survived the sinking, Newfoundland became the 10th province of Canada on March 31,1949, and the Newfoundland Railways assets were transferred to the control of the federal Crown corporation Canadian National Railway. CN became a presence in Newfoundlands early years as a province, controlling the railway, dry dock services, many ferries and coastal boats

22.
Canadian National Railway
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The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec that serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CNs slogan is North Americas Railroad, CN is a public company with 24,000 employees. It had a capitalization of 32 billion CAD in 2011. CN was government-owned, having been a Canadian Crown corporation from its founding to its privatization in 1995, bill Gates was, in 2011, the largest single shareholder of CN stock. Its range once reached across the island of Newfoundland until 1988, the railway was referred to as the Canadian National Railways between 1918 and 1960, and as Canadian National/Canadien National from 1960 to the present. On November 17,1995, the government privatized CN. Over the next decade, the company expanded significantly into the United States, purchasing Illinois Central Railroad and Wisconsin Central Transportation, now primarily a freight railway, CN also operated passenger services until 1978, when they were assumed by Via Rail. The Newfoundland mixed trains lasted until 1988, while the Montreal commuter trains are now operated by Montreals AMT, the absorption of the Intercolonial Railway would see CNR adopt that systems slogan The Peoples Railway. The federal governments Department of Railways and Canals took over operation of the GTPR until July 12,1920, the Canadian National Railway was organized on October 10,1922. After several years of arbitration, the GTR was absorbed into CNR on January 30,1923, Canadian National Railways was born out of both wartime and domestic urgency. Railways, until the rise of the automobile and creation of taxpayer-funded all-weather highways, were the only viable long-distance land transportation available in Canada for many years. As such, their operation consumed a great deal of public, in the early 20th century, many governments were taking a more interventionist role in the economy, foreshadowing the influence of economists like John Maynard Keynes. This political trend, combined with broader geo-political events, made nationalization an appealing choice for Canada, the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 and allied involvement in the Russian Revolution seemed to validate the continuing process. The need for a rail system was paramount in a time of civil unrest. CN Telegraph originated as the Great North West Telegraph Company in 1880 to connect Ontario and Manitoba, in 1915, facing bankruptcy, GNWTC was acquired by the Canadian Northern Railways telegraph company. When Canadian Northern was nationalized in 1918 and amalgamated into Canadian National Railways in 1921, CN Telegraphs began co-operating with its Canadian Pacific owned rival CPR Telegraphs in the 1930s, sharing telegraph networks and co-founding a teleprinter system in 1957. In 1967 the two services were amalgamated into a joint venture CNCP Telecommunications which evolved into a telecoms company, CN sold its stake of the company to CP in 1984. This led to the creation of a network of CNR radio stations across the country, as anyone in the vicinity of a station could hear its broadcasts the networks audience extended far beyond train passengers to the public at large

23.
Newfoundland (island)
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Newfoundland is a large Canadian island off the east coast of the North American mainland, and the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It has 29 percent of the land area. The island is separated from the Labrador Peninsula by the Strait of Belle Isle and it blocks the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River, creating the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the worlds largest estuary. Newfoundlands nearest neighbour is the French overseas community of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, with an area of 108,860 square kilometres, Newfoundland is the worlds 16th-largest island, Canadas fourth-largest island, and the largest Canadian island outside the North. The provincial capital, St. Johns, is located on the southeastern coast of the island, Cape Spear, just south of the capital, is the easternmost point of North America, excluding Greenland. It is common to consider all directly neighbouring islands such as New World, Twillingate, Fogo, by that classification, Newfoundland and its associated small islands have a total area of 111,390 square kilometres. Additionally 6. 1% claimed at least one parent of French ancestry, the islands total population as of the 2006 census was 479,105. Long settled by peoples of the Dorset culture, the island was visited by the Icelandic Viking Leif Eriksson in the 11th century. The next European visitors to Newfoundland were Portuguese, Basque, Spanish, French, the island was visited by the Genoese navigator John Cabot, working under contract to King Henry VII of England on his expedition from Bristol in 1497. In 1501, Portuguese explorers Gaspar Corte-Real and his brother Miguel Corte-Real charted part of the coast of Newfoundland in a attempt to find the Northwest Passage. Newfoundland is considered Britains oldest colony, at the time of English settlement, the Beothuk inhabited the island. While there is evidence of ancient indigenous peoples on the island. LAnse aux Meadows was a Norse settlement near the northernmost tip of Newfoundland, the site is considered the only undisputed evidence of Pre-Columbian contact between the Old and New Worlds, if the Norse-Inuit contact on Greenland is not counted. There is a second suspected Norse site in Point Rosee, the island is a likely location of Vinland, mentioned in the Viking Chronicles, although this has been disputed. The indigenous people on the island at the time of European settlement were the Beothuk, later immigrants developed a variety of dialects associated with settlement on the island, Newfoundland English, Newfoundland French. In the 19th century, it also had a dialect of Irish known as Newfoundland Irish, Scottish Gaelic was spoken on the island during the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in the Codroy Valley area, chiefly by settlers from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. The Gaelic names reflected the association with fishing, in Scottish Gaelic, it was called Eilean a Trosg, or literally, similarly, the Irish Gaelic name Talamh an Éisc means Land of the Fish. The first inhabitants of Newfoundland were the Paleo-Eskimo, who have no link to other groups in Newfoundland history

24.
Channel-Port aux Basques
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Channel-Port aux Basques is a town at the extreme southwestern tip of Newfoundland fronting on the western end of the Cabot Strait. A Marine Atlantic ferry terminal is located in the town which is the entry point onto the island of Newfoundland. The town was incorporated in 1945 and its population in the 2011 census was 4,170, Port aux Basques is the oldest of the collection of towns that make up the present-day town, which consists of Port aux Basques, Channel, Grand Bay, and Mouse Island. Amalgamation took place in the 1970s, Channel refers to the narrow channel of water that leads into the local harbour. After leaving the harbour the whalers either proceeded to the whaling grounds off southern Labrador, or headed home to the Basque country. They almost certainly took on water from Dead Mans Brook. Port aux Basques is first seen on a 1687 Johannes van Keulen map of the area, with the fishery being the economic mainstay for both French and British settlers in the area, Channel-Port aux Basques appeared destined to remain a collection of small fishing villages. The town is called Siinalk in the Mikmaq language, in 1856, an underwater telegraph cable was successfully laid between Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island, making landfall nearby. This was the first step in the race to complete a trans-Atlantic telegraph cable, a telegraph station was opened in Port aux Basques in 1857. Both the Trans-Canada Highway and the Trans-Canada Trail have their Newfoundland and Labrador start, in 1893, it was decided to extend the western terminus of the Newfoundland Railway from St. Georges to Port aux Basques harbour. While the required docks were constructed, the Bruce operated between Little Placentia Sound and North Sydney, Nova Scotia from October,1897 until June,1898, Port Aux Basques is served by air via Stephenville International Airport, located 145 kilometres north of the town. On June 30,1898, the first passenger train arrived in Port aux Basques, over the years, the Newfoundland Railway expanded both the number of trains and vessels which called at Port Aux Basques. In 1925 the steamer SS Caribou began service and she was attacked and sunk by the German submarine U-69 on 14 October 1942 with a loss of 137 lives, some from the Port aux Basques area. There were 20 widows from Caribou sinking in the Port aux Basques area, the Town of Port aux Basques was incorporated in 1945 with Samuel Walters as the first mayor. On 31 March 1949 Newfoundland entered into Confederation and the railway was transferred to Canadian National Railways, extensive blasting of rock created space for large rail yards with extensive dual gauge trackage. The excess rock was used as fill to create the required docks. With the abandonment of the railway, extensive rebuilding of Port aux Basques terminal resulted in expansive marshaling areas for waiting motor vehicle traffic, in 2009, a larger and more modern vessel, the MV Atlantic Vision, was added to the fleet. With a larger carrying capacity and an equivalent Ice Class to the MV Caribou, following the retirement of the MV Caribou and the MV Joseph and Clara Smallwood, two more new ships were acquired on a 5-year charter from Stena Line

25.
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
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St. Johns is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador. It is on the tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. St. Johns covers 446.04 square kilometres and is North Americas most easterly city, excluding those of Greenland. Its name has been attributed to the Nativity of John the Baptist, existing on maps as early as 1519, it is considered by some to be the oldest English-founded city in North America. It was officially incorporated as a city in 1888, the city has a rich history, having played a role in the Seven Years War, the French and Indian War, the American Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812. Italian inventor, Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless signal in St. Johns and its history and culture have made it one of the worlds top ocean-side tourist destinations. St. Johns is one of North Americas oldest settlements, with setting up seasonal camps in the early 16th century. Sebastian Cabot declares in a handwritten Latin text in his original 1545 map, that St. However, the earliest record of the location appears as São João on a Portuguese map by Pedro Reinel in 1519. When John Rut visited St. Johns in 1527 he found Norman, Breton, on 3 August 1527, Rut wrote a letter to King Henry on the findings of his voyage to North America, this was the first known letter sent from North America. St. Jehan is shown on Nicholas Desliens world map of 1541 and it was during this time that Water Street was first developed, making it the oldest street in North America. On 5 August 1583, an English Sea Dog, Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed the area as Englands first overseas colony under Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I. There was no permanent population, however, and Gilbert was lost at sea during his return voyage, the Newfoundland National War Memorial is on the waterfront in St. Johns, at the purported site of Gilberts landing and proclamation. By 1620, the fishermen of Englands West Country controlled most of Newfoundlands east coast, in 1627, William Payne, called St. Johns the principal prime and chief lot in all the whole country. Sometime after 1630, the town of St. Johns was established as a permanent community, before this they were expressly forbidden by the British government, at the urging of the West Country fishing industry, from establishing permanent settlements along the English controlled coast. The population grew slowly in the 17th century, St. Johns was Newfoundlands largest settlement when English naval officers began to take censuses around 1675, the population grew in the summers with the arrival of migratory fishermen. In 1680, fishing ships set up fishing rooms at St. Johns, the towns first significant defenses were likely erected due to commercial interests, following the temporary seizure of St. Johns by the Dutch admiral Michiel de Ruyter in June 1665. The inhabitants fended off a second Dutch attack in 1673, when it was defended by Christopher Martin, Martin landed six cannons from his vessel, the Elias Andrews, and constructed an earthen breastwork and battery near Chain Rock commanding the Narrows leading into the harbour. With only 23 men, the valiant Martin beat off an attack by three Dutch warships, when 1500 English reinforcements arrived in late 1697, they found rubble where the town and fortifications had stood

26.
Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador
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Stephenville is a Canadian town in Newfoundland and Labrador on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland. Stephenville has a modern 40-bed hospital, schools, stores, banks, the provincial community college system, College of the North Atlantic, is headquartered in Stephenville and maintains a campus there for students from the southwestern region of the island. A provincial minimum security jail is located in the town. This place was known as the Acadian village, between 1848 and 1870. The populace of the village consisted of Roman Catholics who eked out a living, farming and fishing, the towns population continued to grow because of the stable economy. It was also home to Ernest Harmon AFB, which was operated by the United States Army Air Forces. The base precipitated an economic boom of sorts on Newfoundlands southwest coast during the 1940s, Corner Brook to the northeast had been considered the major population center for the region, given its industrial base and nearby recreational opportunities in the Humber River. With the massive investment of the Government of the United States in the base, the Stephenville and St. Georges Bay area began to flourish. The village of Stephenville grew from a hamlet of several hundred people with no paved streets, side walks, water or sewage system in 1941 into a modern town of over 5,000 by the mid-1950s. By the time Ernest Harmon AFB closed in 1966, the town had more than doubled in size, after the base was closed, the facility was turned over to the federal government which then provided it to the provincial government to diversify the local community. The facility included the air field, which has two runways and numerous buildings which are operated as the Stephenville International Airport, an abandoned USAF Pinetree Line radar site is located on nearby Table Mountain, north of the town. The town uses many former USAF structures for housing, recreation, the Stephenville International Airport, formerly Ernest Harmon AFB, serves the entire west coast of the island - a catchment population of 90,000 people from Port aux Basques to St. S. A. As well, Stephenville Airport is a port of entry airport. Daily intraprovincial bus service connecting to major centres and ferry terminals across the island is provided by DRL Coachlines. Dedicated bus service between Stephenville and Corner Brook is provided by Eddy Services, dedicated bus service between Stephenville and Port aux Basques is provided by Gateway Bus Service. Three taxi companies serve the town, Crown Taxi, Blue Bird Taxi, the town is located 15 kilometres northwest of the Trans-Canada Highway, and is accessible using Provincial Highway Routes 490 and 460. Rail service to the town, as well as all of Newfoundland, was discontinued by Terra Transport in 1988, the density of the town core, and its flat topography, permit residents to enjoy outdoor activities such as walking, bicycling, roller blading, and cross-country skiing. According to the 2011 Canada Census, Stephenvilles population increased by 2% since 2006 and this marked the first increase in population since 1996, when population increased by 1. 9% over 1991s number

27.
Lewisporte
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Lewisporte is a town in central Newfoundland Island, Canada, with a population of 3,312. It is situated in Burnt Bay which opens on to the Bay of Exploits, Lewisporte has a deep water port and related facilities that serve many communities in the region. Gander and its airport are thirty minutes east on the Trans Canada Highway. Grand Falls-Windsor is a 45-minute drive west, twillingate is a 75-minute drive north of Lewisporte on Route 340. Settlers first arrived in Lewisporte, previously named Burnt Bay and then Marshallville, in 1887 and engaged in the fishing, logging. Lewisporte is named for Lewis Miller, an enterprising Scotsman who operated a company in central Newfoundland. Millertown, another community in this region is named for him. The first European settlers were attracted to the area by the stands of birch, spruce and pine. During the war years, Lewisporte was an important base of operations for the Canadian Forces, ganders strategic location as a ‘jumping off’ point for flights going to Europe brought a larger population to Lewisporte. Approximately three army sites were constructed in Lewisporte to protect the oil lines to Gander. By the end of the war there were 150 families and a population of 821, rapid commercial and residential growth after the war has converted and swallowed nearly all evidence of military presence. Lewisportes population and size have increased as the transportation and distribution function became more important. In 1947, Lewisporte Wholesalers began operations, then in 1949 Steers Limited began their business in the community. Both the companies acted as suppliers for the entire province, following these major companies came others who eyed the community as a main distribution centre. The town was incorporated in 1946 and by 1976 the population had increased from 821 to 3200, after the September 11,2001 terror attacks, numerous transatlantic flights were diverted to Gander International Airport when U. S. airspace was closed. Lewisporte participated in Operation Yellow Ribbon, and sheltered and fed hundreds of stranded passengers for several days. In subsequent press reports, the praised the citizens of Lewisporte for their concern. After the trans-island railway had completed in 1887 a branch line was built from Notre Dame Junction to Lewisporte

28.
Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador
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Bonavista is a town on the Bonavista Peninsula, Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Unlike many Newfoundland coastal settlements, Bonavista was built on a plain, not in a steep cove. Giovanni Caboto, a freelance Venetian explorer, was contracted by England’s Henry VII to find new lands, Cabot set sail from Bristol, England in his ship the Matthew in 1497. When Cabot first saw land he’s reputed to have said O Buon Vista giving rise to the name of the town, Cabot landed with a crucifix and raised banners with the arms of the Holy Father and those of the King of England. The land was inhabited, as the expedition found a trail leading inland, a site where a fire had been, the harbour was not ideal, eventually requiring the construction of several breakwaters. Despite this Bonavista became one of the most important towns in Newfoundland due to its proximity to the fishing and sealing grounds to the north of the peninsula. Tension between the French and English sometimes resulted in action, including an unsuccessful attempt in 1704 by the French to burn the town. The French Shore, which had Bonavista as its terminus, was established by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Fishing rights in the continued to be a source of tension between the French and English. Bonavista was a commercial centre and the evidence for this is preserved at the Ryan Premises. It is an example of a large fish merchants operation. Bonavista’s status was enhanced by the development of the Fishermans Protective Union in the early 20th century. During the peak years of 1891-1901, the Bonavista Peninsulas population of about 20,000 was centred in Bonavista, the Bonavista Cold Storage Co. fish plant, now a Fishery Products International operation, became the centre of fishery production after the decline of salt fish markets. In 1722 the first school in Newfoundland was built in Bonavista by Rev. Henry Jones, in 2006, the automobile company Nissan developed a new SUV named Nissan X-Trail Bonavista Edition, which was supposedly inspired by the beauty of Newfoundland and named after the historical town. However, the commercial itself backfired when Bonavista Mayor Betty Fitzgerald, to further expose the commercials lack of linguistic authenticity, CBC News reported the sales rep was played by an actor from Cape Breton Island. That commercial was parodied by a car dealer in St. Johns, Newfoundland in a radio ad that takes shots at Ontario marketing companies. Although winters are mild by Canadian standards, there is heavy snowfall. Bonavista is the windiest place in Canada with a wind speed of 32.6 km/h.1, p. 213-214

29.
Placentia, Newfoundland and Labrador
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Placentia is a town on the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland and Labrador, consisting of the amalgamated communities of Jerseyside, Townside, Freshwater, Dunville and Argentia. Common family names include Caul, Power, OKeefe, Collins, OReilly, Murphy, Williams, Gambin, Hatfield, Wadman, Lake, Barry, Mooney, and Careen. In the 2016 census, Placentias population was reported as 3,496, contemporary scholars think that land called Vinland extending from Nova Scotia to LAnse aux Meadows consisted at least a few settlements, probably on Avalon Peninsula too. Placentia may be derived from a name of an old Basque villa called Placencia de las Armas. Placentia may also be derived from the Latin placentia, a name also given by the Basques. Placentias large, rocky beach meant that fish could be salted and dried on the rather than on a constructed wooden fishing stage. In 1655, the French, who controlled more than half of the island of Newfoundland and they built Fort Plaisance in 1662, which was followed by Fort Royal in 1687, and Fort Saint Louis in 1691. The establishment of a fort with a garrison allowed fishermen to pursue their activities with greater safety in neighbouring harbours, in 1692, Louis-Armand de Lom dArce de Lahontan, Baron de Lahontan defended the French port. In 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht forced the French to abandon their Placentia Bay settlements and migrate to Louisbourg, and Placentia became a British possession. The town was described by the then-Prince as a more decent settlement than any we have yet seen in Newfoundland and was reported as having a population between 1500 and 2000 people. Considering that the population of Newfoundland was reported as 8,00011 years earlier, in 1775, Placentias relative size and importance becomes apparent. In the 18th century there were also a number of settlers from the Channel Islands, from which Jerseyside. In 1940, via an agreement between the British and American governments, a large American military base was constructed at nearby Argentia. For a time, this was the largest American military base outside of the United States and this huge development revolutionized the Placentia area both economically and culturally. Essentially, the American base introduced a widespread cash-based economy, suddenly, people who had fished all of their lives had access to good-paying jobs on the American base. American technology enriched the living standards of Placentia residents, while the culture was influenced strongly by the American presence. Similarly, it prompted a population boom, growing from 1,900 people in 1935 to well over 8,000 in the 1960s. The post office was established in 1851, the first Postmistress in 1863 was Mary Morris

30.
Carbonear
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Carbonear is a town in the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It overlooks the west side of Conception Bay and had a history tied to fishing and shipbuilding. Since the late 20th century, its economy has changed to emphasize education, health care, there were 4,739 people living in Carbonear in 2011, this is up from 4,723 in 2006. The town of Carbonear is one of the oldest permanent settlements in Newfoundland, the harbour appears on early Portuguese maps as early as the late 1500s as Cabo Carvoeiro. There are a number of different theories about the origin of the towns name, possibly from the Spanish word carbonera, Carbonera, a town near Venice, Italy where John Cabot had been resident, or from a number of French words, most likely Charbonnier or Carbonnier. The friars stayed to establish a community in Newfoundland for the Augustinian order of the Carbonara. She believed that the settlement may have been short-lived but built a church, the modern name of the town may be derived from the order and its church. If true, Carbonear would have been the first Christian settlement of any kind in North America, and the site of the oldest, and only, medieval church built on the continent. Evan Jones of the University of Bristol is leading further investigations of Dr Ruddocks claims to find additional evidence with colleagues in what is known as The Cabot Project. By the time the British began permanent colonization of the island in the early 17th century, most of the areas land had been granted to Sir Percival Willoughby. He moved there from the colonies by no later 1631 to fish. The Guy family continued as the predominant planter family in Carbonear throughout the 17th century, much is known about Easton and his exploits, but evidence of NaGeira has yet to be found. The legends combination of romance, pirates, and New World adventure has inspired much research and it became a target for Englands enemies, and privateers. When war broke out with France, Carbonear was attacked by French captain Pierre Le Moyne dIberville during the Avalon Peninsula Campaign, during four months of raids, Iberville was responsible for the destruction of thirty-six Newfoundland settlements. By the end of March 1697, only Bonavista and Carbonear Island remained in English hands, over the next hundred years, Carbonear was attacked and burned two more times by the French in their attempts to control Newfoundland, and then later by American privateers. The residents continued to improve the fortifications using their own money and although the town was repeatedly burned, the town developed as one of the most important in Newfoundland in this period. When Judiciary districts were set up to govern the island in 1729 by Commodore Governor Henry Osborn, with new French threats, the British finally erected a fort and garrison on the Island in 1743. During the Seven Years War, the French invaded and gained control of the fort, burning its buildings and they can still be seen on the beach below

31.
Prince Edward Island Railway
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The Prince Edward Island Railway was a historic Canadian railway on Prince Edward Island. A major spur from Charlottetown served Murray Harbour on the south coast, Construction began in 1871 but costs almost bankrupted the government by the next year, a problem that helped pave PEIs entrance into Confederation. The work was picked up by the Canadian Government Railways and largely completed by the mid-1880s, the PEIR saw heavy use, especially during World War II, but like many railways saw declining use through the 1970s. The provincial government purchased the properties in 1994, and 75% of the route now forms the basis of the Confederation Trail rail trail system, the station in Elmira, at the eastern end of the line, is now used as the Elmira Railway Museum. Located wholly within the province of Prince Edward Island, construction of the PEIR started in 1871, at one point there was on average one railway station for every 2.5 miles of track. The main line connected the port of Alberton with the Northumberland Strait ports of Summerside, Charlottetown, Georgetown. By 1872, construction debts threatened to bankrupt the colony, the railway construction debts pushed the colony into reconsidering Confederation, and following further negotiations, Prince Edward Island became a province of Canada on July 1,1873. New locomotives were purchased from the United Kingdom and from Canadian manufacturers along with new rail cars, in 1885, a new line was built connecting the Charlottetown-Summerside main line at Emerald Junction with another Northumberland Strait port at Cape Traverse. From Cape Traverse, iceboats would cross the Abegweit Passage to Cape Tormentine, branches were also constructed at this time off PEIR lines to Vernon Bridge, Montague, and Elmira. From 1915-1918, the PEIR and the IRC would come to be known collectively as the Canadian Government Railways, although each company would maintain its separate corporate identity and management. In the meantime, the Prince Edward Island continued to operate the service to the port of Pictou, the new ferry port at Borden required the Cape Traverse-Emerald Junction line be modified, and a line was constructed to Borden, along with marshalling yards and other facilities. The Cape Traverse line would only last a few years before being abandoned following the move to Borden. Up until this point, the PEIR was a completely captive system, in September 1918, management of the CGR was transferred to the newly nationalized Canadian Northern Railway. These companies were assumed by a new Crown corporation established by the government in December 1918. By 1923 all corporate entities ceased to exist under CNR, soon after CNR took over, it was decided to standard gauge all narrow gauge trackage on Prince Edward Island. -Georgetown line, to connect with the Murray Harbour track at Lake Verde Junction. CNR was extremely busy on Prince Edward Island during the Second World War when a 2-mile spur line was built from St, the rising popularity of automobiles travelling on government-funded all-weather highways saw passenger rail traffic decline sharply during the 1950s and into the 1960s. The last passenger train on Prince Edward Island operated in 1968, CN was a major presence in Prince Edward Islands economy, from operating the freight and passenger railway services, to a large fleet of company owned and operated ferries. This required the use of icebreakers, some of which were the largest of their kind in the world at one time, trucks soon began to take traffic away from freight operations on Prince Edward Island, particularly as CNR improved the ferry system to accept more road vehicles

32.
Confederation Trail
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Confederation Trail is the name for a 470 kilometre recreational rail trail system in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. It was developed in the 1990s, following the December 31,1989, since its completion from Tignish to Elmira in 2000, the Confederation Trail has proven a popular recreational trail for residents and tourists. Given its railway heritage, the trail has little to no grades and is well drained, stone dust has been placed over the traditional railway crushed rock ballast, giving a surface suitable for walking/running, and biking. Horses are not allowed on the trail, the entire trail system is marked with kilometre posts and directional and interpretive signage, as well as benches, picnic table shelters, and scenic look-offs throughout. The trail winds through Prince Edward Islands scenic agricultural and forested landscapes and is crossed by public roads. Note that the Wood Islands Spur is not a rail trail, a large part of this railway right-of-way was leased to local landowners in the early 1990s by CN prior to provincial ownership. The lease expires in 2015 when it is expected full trail development will take place on these remaining sections, the last portions of the trail which have yet to open include, Maple Hill Junction - Iona Lake Verde Junction - Vernon Bridge Lake Verde Junction - Southport St

33.
Fredericton Railway Bridge
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The Fredericton Railway Bridge is a former railway bridge in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada now used to carry pedestrians and cyclists. It crosses the Saint John River from the east end of Frederictons central business district on the west bank of the river to the community of South Devon on the east bank. Since 1997, it has used as a pedestrian bridge and is part of the Sentier NB Trail system. Fredericton claims it is the worlds longest walking bridge, on June 7,2008 the bridge was renamed the Bill Thorpe Walking Bridge, after a founder of the Fredericton Trail System. The bridge consists of 9 spans crossing a distance of 581 metres over water and was constructed in 1938 and it is a through truss design built entirely of steel and sits upon 8 concrete piers in the water and 2 concrete abutments,1 on each bank. The bridge has a clearance of 7. The swing span was last operated in 1976 to permit the passage of barges carrying construction equipment for the Westmorland Street Bridge project. A railway bridge had been proposed in the Fredericton area since the 1860s after a survey by the European. The E&NA Western Extension was building the line connecting St. Croix, initial surveys of the line east from the Canada–United States border at Vanceboro-St. This line opened in 1869 and forced the construction of the Fredericton Branch Railway to serve the capital city, the dream of a railway bridge at Fredericton did not die with the failure of the Harvey-Fredericton-Salisbury route however. Surveys were commissioned in 1866 and he formed the New Brunswick Land, construction from Devon to Newburg on the east bank of the river opposite Woodstock took place from 1871-1873 and from Newburg to Edmundston from 1871-1878. The 1880s brought a period of massive ownership consolidation in the New Brunswick railway industry when Gibsons NBL&RC changed its name to the New Brunswick Railway. In 1878, the NBL&RC had acquired the Aroostook Valley Railway, followed by the New Brunswick and Canada Railway in 1882, within 5 years, the NBR controlled every railway in western New Brunswick. As part of project, Gibson again proposed to build a railway bridge over the Saint John River and in 1885, he incorporated the Fredericton. Construction began in 1887 with the laying of the first foundation stone, assisted by Prime Minister of Canada, Sir John A. Macdonald, the bridge was operational in 1889 and was a subsidiary company to the Northern and Western Railway. On July 1,1890, the Canadian Pacific Railway obtained control of the NBR with a lease for 999 years, the CPR obtained trackage rights over Gibsons railway bridge to connect its line to Fredericton with the line from Devon to Woodstock. The ICR operated the line from Fredericton to the Miramichi River valley as well as the Fredericton railway bridge, the ICR was merged into the Canadian National Railways in 1918. The original bridge was damaged by ice and flood waters in the spring freshet of March 1935

34.
Mont-Laurier
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Mont-Laurier is a town and incorporated municipality in northwest Quebec, Canada, located on the banks of the Rivière du Lièvre, a tributary of the Ottawa River. Known as the “Capital of the Haute-Laurentides”, the motto of the town is Laurus elationis praemium, the demonym for its inhabitants is Lauriermontois. In 2003, Mont-Laurier merged with the neighbouring towns Des Ruisseaux and Saint-Aimé-du-Lac-des-Îles, following a 2004 demerger referendum vote, Saint-Aimé-du-Lac-des-Îles left Mont-Laurier in 2006 to be reconstituted as an independent municipality. The deamalgamation did not affect Des Ruisseaux, which remains within Mont-Laurier, according to the Canada 2006 Census, the population of Mont-Laurier is 13,405. Mont-Laurier is one of the largest municipalities in Quebec in terms of area and it is the seat of Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality and the judicial district of Labelle. The territory was inhabited by Oueskarinis, a sub tribe of Algonquians. The white settlers came from Sainte-Adèle in 1866, rapide-de-lOrignal was founded at the current location of Mont-Laurier, on the Lievre River, in 1885, by Solime Alix. The name was changed in 1909 to honour Canadian Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier, in 1940, a road from Mont-Laurier to Abitibi was built. This facilitated the growth of the trucking industry, elected in 2003, the current mayor of Mont-Laurier is Michel Adrien, a black immigrant to Canada from Haiti. He was elected mayor with an 80% majority, with no opponent running against him, Adrien was reelected through acclamation in 2005,2007 and 2009. In addition to a leader, the municipality is governed by a city council. In addition to Mont-Laurier, the municipality consists of the following population centres, Lac-Gatineau, Saint-Jean-sur-le-Lac. Mont-Laurier is located on the banks of the Rivière du Lièvre and its location in the Laurentians places it at an altitude of 244 metres above mean sea level. It is surrounded by lakes and mixed forests that support hunting, fishing and leisure. Mont-Laurier is located roughly at the point of the major roadway from Montreal to Abitibi, Route 117. Route 309 follows the Lievre and leads to Gatineau and Ottawa,216 kilometres to the south, Mont-Laurier has a humid continental climate. It is strongly influenced by its position, with significant differences between the warm summers and the very cold winters. Precipitiation is high year-round, causing significant snow cover in winter, Mont-Laurier is the administrative and commercial centre of the Haute-Lievre area

35.
Toronto
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Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. With a population of 2,731,571, it is the fourth most populous city in North America after Mexico City, New York City, and Los Angeles. A global city, Toronto is a centre of business, finance, arts, and culture. Aboriginal peoples have inhabited the area now known as Toronto for thousands of years, the city itself is situated on the southern terminus of an ancient Aboriginal trail leading north to Lake Simcoe, used by the Wyandot, Iroquois, and the Mississauga. Permanent European settlement began in the 1790s, after the broadly disputed Toronto Purchase of 1787, the British established the town of York, and later designated it as the capital of Upper Canada. During the War of 1812, the town was the site of the Battle of York, York was renamed and incorporated as the city of Toronto in 1834, and became the capital of the province of Ontario during the Canadian Confederation in 1867. The city proper has since expanded past its original borders through amalgamation with surrounding municipalities at various times in its history to its current area of 630.2 km2. While the majority of Torontonians speak English as their primary language, Toronto is a prominent centre for music, theatre, motion picture production, and television production, and is home to the headquarters of Canadas major national broadcast networks and media outlets. Toronto is known for its skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, in particular the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere. The name Toronto is likely derived from the Iroquois word tkaronto and this refers to the northern end of what is now Lake Simcoe, where the Huron had planted tree saplings to corral fish. A portage route from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron running through this point, in the 1660s, the Iroquois established two villages within what is today Toronto, Ganatsekwyagon on the banks of the Rouge River and Teiaiagonon the banks of the Humber River. By 1701, the Mississauga had displaced the Iroquois, who abandoned the Toronto area at the end of the Beaver Wars, French traders founded Fort Rouillé on the current Exhibition grounds in 1750, but abandoned it in 1759. During the American Revolutionary War, the region saw an influx of British settlers as United Empire Loyalists fled for the British-controlled lands north of Lake Ontario, the new province of Upper Canada was in the process of creation and needed a capital. Dorchester intended the location to be named Toronto, in 1793, Governor John Graves Simcoe established the town of York on the Toronto Purchase lands, instead naming it after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. Simcoe decided to move the Upper Canada capital from Newark to York, the York garrison was constructed at the entrance of the towns natural harbour, sheltered by a long sandbar peninsula. The towns settlement formed at the end of the harbour behind the peninsula, near the present-day intersection of Parliament Street. In 1813, as part of the War of 1812, the Battle of York ended in the towns capture, the surrender of the town was negotiated by John Strachan. US soldiers destroyed much of the garrison and set fire to the parliament buildings during their five-day occupation, the sacking of York was a primary motivation for the Burning of Washington by British troops later in the war

36.
Beltline Trail
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The Beltline Trail is a 9 km cycling and walking rail trail in Toronto, Ontario. Built on the former right-of-way of the Toronto Belt Line Railway, the park passes through the neighbourhoods of Rosedale, Moore Park, Forest Hill, Chaplin Estates. The Toronto Belt Line Railway opened in 1892 and it was constructed as a commuter railway line to service and promote new suburban neighbourhoods north of the then city limits. The railway consisted of two separate loops both starting and ending at Union Station, from there, the route circled south back to Union Station. The passenger train service was never profitable and only lasted two years, parts of the rail line then sat unused. In 1910, the Grand Trunk rebuilt the portion of the Yonge St. Loop for freight service. Trains ran along this line until the late 1960s when a part of the right-of-way was expropriated to build the Spadina Expressway. This ended rail service east of Marlee Avenue, just before the Allen, in 1970, CN tried to sell the right-of-way east of the Allen for housing since the land was quite valuable. This would set the stage for one of the first public battles on biking trails, most home owners adjacent to the line wished to buy the land to extend their backyards complaining of safety issues, vandals, and lovers. Both Metro Toronto parks officials and York Mayor Phil White saw it as an opportunity to build a bike path, Toronto Mayor William Dennison and his executive committee favoured buying portions of the Belt Line to expand roads and existing parks. Dennison told the Toronto Star that he opposed a continuous path along the Belt Line because people have demonstrated they just wont use it, as well as echoing fears of the homeowners. After two years of talk, the land was purchased by the city in 1972 as part of a swap with CN that included the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Front Street. One of the supporters of turning the rail bed into a path was alderman David Crombie. CN sold the line west of the Allen to the city in 1988. The bridge over Yonge Street was deteriorated and was refurbished in 1993, the trail reuses almost all of the old railway space. There is no crossing of the limited-access Allen Road, and trail users must use footpaths parallel to the Allen to reach the nearest road bridge a half-block north or south. Other roads are crossed at grade, with no formal pedestrian crosswalks, the trail heading west ends just west of Caledonia Road at the former Grand Trunk line, now GO Transits Barrie line. Heading east, after passing through Mount Pleasant Cemetery, the Beltline Trail then continues southwards through the Moore Park Ravine alongside Mud Creek, a small tributary of the Don River

37.
West Toronto Railpath
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The West Toronto Railpath is a multi-use asphalt trail in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, running from The Junction neighbourhood toward downtown Toronto. The Railpath was developed and funded by the City of Toronto for bicycle and it, along with the Beltline Trail, is an example of an urban rails-to-trail project. Phase 1 of the path opened up in 2009, Phase 2, an extension south from Dundas Street West to Liberty Village, has received full funding from the provincial and federal governments. In 1868, the Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway was incorporated to provide rail service connecting Toronto to Southampton, sections of this railway in Toronto ran along the rights of way of other existing railways. As this railway was a different gauge, a set of tracks was required along the right of way. Due to service problems associated with the gauge, the line was eventually converted to standard gauge in 1881. By 1883, the Canadian Pacific Railway had acquired the line, into the 1960s, the portion of the track around Dupont was known as The Old Bruce. It served several industries, including the Viceroy plant and the scrapyard, organizations involved include the Evergreen Foundation and, although the Railpath is multi-use, notable advocacy by bicycling interests such as Torontos Community Bicycle Network. The City of Toronto first authorized purchase of the land for the portion from Cariboo Avenue to Dundas Street West in 1997, funds to the amount of $920,000 were approved in 2000. This land was acquired in July 2003 by the City of Toronto from the St. Lawrence, the purchase agreement demanded that the vendor remediate the soil to industrial standards. After acquiring the lands, the City of Toronto needed to terminate a lease that a salvage yard had for a portion of the land, leased when the land was owned by Canadian Pacific. The project combined the restoration of rail bridges with the installation of new public art pieces by artist John Dickson. New entrance points at Dupont and Bloor Streets allow pedestrians to access the trail from the street, concrete plazas are located along the trail where existing streets intersect it, providing neighbourhood connections and gathering places. The realization of Phase 2 will potentially be coordinated with the Georgetown South Project, an expansion of rail capacity along the line for GO Transit. In total, the Railpath is proposed to run about 4 km from Cariboo Avenue in The Junction to Strachan Avenue near the downtown core, like other rail trail projects, the path runs along railway rights-of-way established many years ago that have been narrowed or abandoned. Phase 1 is about 2 km long, beginning at Cariboo Avenue and running southeast to Dundas Street West, the contract for Phase 1 construction was awarded in April 2008 at a cost of $3.8 million. Construction began in 2008 and was completed in summer 2009, with the opening on October 30,2009. Rail line capacity expansion projects by Metrolinx could potentially conflict with Phase 2, Toronto City Council continues to support the Railpath

38.
Lindsay, Ontario
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Lindsay is a community of 20,354 people on the Scugog River in the Kawartha Lakes region of south-eastern Ontario, Canada. It is approximately 43 km west of Peterborough and it is the seat of the City of Kawartha Lakes, and the hub for business and commerce in the region. Lindsay Transit provides bus service to the community and surrounding area, the Township of Ops was surveyed in 1825 by Colonel Duncan McDonell, and Lots 20 and 21 in the 5th Concession were reserved for a town site. The same year began to come to the region, and by 1827, the Purdys. The following year built a sawmill, and in 1830. A small village grew up around the mills, and it was known as Purdys Mills, in 1834, surveyor John Huston plotted the designated town site into streets and lots. During the survey, one of Hustons assistants, Mr. Lindsay, was shot in the leg. He was buried on the riverbank and his name and death were recorded on the surveyors plan, the name Lindsay remained as the name of the town by government approval. Lindsay grew steadily and developed into a lumbering and farming centre, with the arrival of the Port Hope Railway in 1857, the town saw a period of rapid development and industrial growth. On June 19 of the year, Lindsay was formally incorporated as a town. In 1861, a fire swept through the town and most of Lindsay was destroyed with hundreds of people left homeless and it took many years for Lindsay to recover from this disaster. In the late 19th century, local photographers Fowler & Oliver worked out of the Sunbeam Photo Gallery and it was also the home to Sir Samuel Hughes, the Canadian Minister of Militia during the First World War. The Victoria Street Armouries were built during this time, in 2001 Lindsays town government was officially dissolved and merged, with Victoria County into the new City of Kawartha Lakes. The first railway to arrive in Lindsay was the Port Hope, Lindsay & Beaverton Railway, the first train arrived at the St. Paul and King Streets station on the east side of the Scugog River on October 16,1857. In 1871 it continued on over the Scugog River across a swing-bridge, gained height on the west bank and it was renamed the Port Hope Railway in 1869. Lindsay’s second railway began as the Fenelon Falls Railway in 1871, changing its name to the Lindsay, Fenelon Falls & Ottawa River Valley Railway and it reached and terminated at Haliburton in 1878. In 1881, the Midland Railway acquired the smaller railways. In Lindsay, a new entry from Omemee was then decided upon, the track now came along just south of Durham to Cambridge Street, where it curved north to connect with the former Victoria Railway on Victoria Avenue

39.
Haliburton County
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Haliburton is a county of Ontario, Canada, known as a tourist and cottage area in Central Ontario for its scenery and for its resident artists. Minden Hills is the county seat, Haliburton County and the village of Haliburton are named after Thomas Chandler Haliburton, author, statesman, and the first chairman of the Canadian Land and Emigration Company. The county borders Algonquin Park on the north, Haliburton County is dubbed the Haliburton Highlands. Haliburton County is spotted with many rivers and lakes, included endorheic lakes fueled by natural springs, the ratio of properties occupied in the summer months, to properties occupied year-round is about 3 to 1. Years ago it catered to hundreds staying on site during the summer months and it closed permanently around 2009 -2010, and has only recently been purchased by Gary Bouwmeister, owner of Bouwmeister Landscaping. The creative economy is alive and well in Haliburton, the county is serviced by two hospitals, one in Haliburton and one in Minden. Both are administrated by Haliburton Highlands Health Services, Haliburton County is part of the Trillium Lakelands District School Board. Elementary Minden Hills Archie Stouffer Elementary School - Grades K-8 Dysart et al, stuart W. Baker Elementary School - French Immersion, Grades K-3 J. Peters ACHS College School - Boys Catholic Elementary School The Haliburton Highlands is home to a thriving arts community. The county is dotted by galleries, both public and private, offering events, programs and workshops to the public, artists’ studios can be found in almost every community, many offering public demonstrations, small galleries, and classes. There are murals and public sculptures in the downtowns of most communities, the county is home to the renowned Haliburton Sculpture Forest, a unique outdoor collection of sculptures by Canadian and international artists. The Highlands are also home to the renowned Haliburton School of The Art + Design of Fleming College, students come from across Canada as well as internationally to immerse themselves in the unique art offerings of the Haliburton Campus. HSAD also offers over 300 courses in the Spring-Summer program which attracts nearly 3000 students of all ages to the area during the tourism season. Many local artists are involved in the school as part-time faculty, the Haliburton Campus also offers a post-graduate certificate in Expressive Arts. The Campus also has an emphasis on education and offers certificates in Sustainable Building and Construction. The Renovation program revitalized the Haliburton Highlands Museum, many buildings throughout the county are designated heritage sites by the province, and many others undergoing preservation through the interests of the public. The performing arts also receive much attention, Haliburton Highlands Secondary School has strong drama and music programs, showcasing their talents throughout the year to the public. As well, the Highlands Summer Festival presents an array of theatre offerings throughout the summer, showcasing the talents of local and seasonally local actors. Numerous indie bands perform throughout the county, with open mic events being held at a number of establishments, Haliburton is also home to the Creative Business Incubator

40.
Canadian Shield
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Composed of igneous rock resulting from its long volcanic history, the area is covered by a thin layer of soil. Human population is sparse, and industrial development is minimal, while mining is prevalent, the Canadian Shield is a physiographic division, consisting of five smaller, physiographic provinces, the Laurentian Upland, Kazan Region, Davis, Hudson and James. The shield extends into the United States as the Adirondack Mountains, the Canadian Shield is U-shaped and is a subsection of the Laurentia craton signifying the area of greatest glacial impact creating the thin soils. The Canadian Shield is more than 3.96 billion years old, the Canadian Shield once had jagged peaks, higher than any of todays mountains, but millions of years of erosion have changed these mountains to rolling hills. The Canadian Shield was the first part of North America to be elevated above sea level and has remained almost wholly untouched by successive encroachments of the sea upon the continent. It is the Earths greatest area of exposed Archean rock, the metamorphic base rocks are mostly from the Precambrian Supereon, and have been repeatedly uplifted and eroded. Today it consists largely of an area of low relief 300 to 610 m above sea level with a few monadnocks, during the Pleistocene Epoch, continental ice sheets depressed the land surface, scooped out thousands of lake basins, and carried away much of the regions soil. When the Greenland section is included, the Shield is approximately circular, bounded on the northeast by the northeast edge of Greenland and it covers much of Greenland, Labrador, most of Quebec north of the St. In total, the area of the Shield covers approximately 8,000,000 km2. The underlying rock structure also includes Hudson Bay, the Canadian Shield is among the oldest on earth, with regions dating from 2.5 to 4.2 billion years. The multitude of rivers and lakes in the region is caused by the watersheds of the area being so young. It has some of the oldest volcanoes on the planet and it has over 150 volcanic belts whose bedrock ranges from 600 to 1200 million years old. Each belt probably grew by the coalescence of accumulations erupted from numerous vents, many of Canadas major ore deposits are associated with Precambrian volcanoes. The Sturgeon Lake Caldera in Kenora District, Ontario, is one of the worlds best preserved mineralized Neoarchean caldera complexes, the Canadian Shield also contains the Mackenzie dike swarm, which is the largest dike swarm known on Earth. Mountains have deep roots and float on the denser mantle much like an iceberg at sea, as mountains erode, their roots rise and are eroded in turn. The rocks that now form the surface of the Shield were once far below the Earths surface, the high pressures and temperatures at those depths provided ideal conditions for mineralization. Although these mountains are now eroded, many large mountains still exist in Canadas far north called the Arctic Cordillera. This is a vast deeply dissected mountain range, stretching from northernmost Ellesmere Island to the northernmost tip of Labrador, the ranges highest peak is Nunavuts Barbeau Peak at 2,616 metres above sea level

41.
Trestle bridge
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A trestle is a rigid frame used as a support, historically a tripod used both as stools and to support tables at banquets. A trestle bridge is a composed of a number of short spans supported by such frames. Since this type of bridge is called a trestle for short. Timber and iron trestles were used in the 19th century. In the 21st century, steel and sometimes concrete trestles are commonly used to bridge particularly deep valleys while timber trestles remain common in certain areas, many timber trestles were built in the 19th and early 20th centuries with the expectation that they would be temporary. Timber trestles were used to get the railroad to its destination, in the later 20th century, tools such as the earthmover made it cheaper to construct a high fill directly instead of first constructing a trestle from which to dump the fill. Timber trestles remain common in applications, most notably for bridge approaches crossing floodways. For the purposes of discharging material below, a coal trestle carried a dead-end track, one of the longest trestle spans created was for railroad traffic crossing the Great Salt Lake on the Lucin Cutoff in Utah. It was replaced by a causeway in the 1960s, and is now being salvaged for its timber. Many wooden roller coasters are built using design details similar to trestle bridges because it is so easy to make the roller coaster very high, since loads are well distributed through large portions of the structure it is also resilient to the stresses imposed. The structure also naturally leads to a certain redundancy, such wooden coasters, while limited in their path, possess a certain ride character that is appreciated by fans of the type. The Camas Prairie Railroad in northern Idaho utilized many timber trestles across the rolling Camas Prairie and in the major grade, the 1, 490-foot viaduct across Lawyers Canyon was the exception, constructed of steel and 287 feet in height. The floodway of the Bonnet Carré Spillway in St. Charles Parish, the trestles are owned by the Canadian National Railway and the Kansas City Southern Railroad. The trestles were completed in 1936, after construction of the Spillway, the trestles may be the longest wooden railroad trestles remaining in regular use in North America. These were all replaced by masonry viaducts, few timber trestles survived into the 20th century. Two that did, and which are still in use, cross the Afon Mawddach on the coast of Wales only a few miles apart, at Barmouth. The former, built in 1867, carries trains on the heavy rail Cambrian Coast Line travelling from England via Shrewsbury to the small towns on Cardigan Bay. It also carries a toll-path for pedestrians, trestles in cast- or wrought-iron were used during the 19th Century on the developing railway network in the United Kingdom

42.
St. Marys, Ontario
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St. Marys is a town in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is located at the junction of Thames River and Trout Creek, southwest of Stratford, surrounded by the Township of Perth South and located in Perth County, however, like Stratford, St. Marys operates under its own municipal government that is independent from the Countys government. Nonetheless, the three enjoy a large degree of collaboration and work together to growth the region as a leading location for industry. Census data published for Perth County by Statistics Canada includes St. Marys and most Perth County publications also do, at least in some sections of the document. The town is known by its nickname, The Stone Town, due to the abundance of limestone in the surrounding area, giving rise to a large number of limestone buildings. St. Marys Cement, a cement producer founded in the town, capitalized on this close feedstock. St. Marys is home to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and it is the burial place of Arthur Meighen, Canadas 9th Prime Minister. Timothy Eaton, who went on to one of Canadas greatest retailers, opened his first businesses in Canada in St. Marys and nearby Kirkton. In 1839 the Canada Company sent a surveyor to Blanshard Township in the Huron Tract to choose a site for a town on the Thames River which would later be named St. Marys. The first settlers arrived at the junction of the Thames River and Trout Creek, southwest of Stratford in the early 1840s, attracted by the areas natural resources. At the new site, the Thames River cascaded over a series of limestone ledges, providing the power to run the first pioneer mills and giving the community an early nickname. The Smiths Canadian Gazetteer of 1846 describes the settlement as follows, It was laid out in 1844, there is an excellent limestone quarry close to the village. Professions and Trades. —One grist mill, one saw mill, one physician and surgeon, the arrival of the Grand Trunk Railway in the late 1850s increased the growth, the community became a centre for milling, grain-trading and the manufacture of agriculture-related products. In 1854 the community was incorporated as a village and in 1863 as a town, however, it did not incorporate itself into Perth County. In the riverbed and along the banks, limestone was close to the surface, many 19th century limestone structures survive, churches, commercial blocks, and private homes. They have given St. Marys its current nickname, Stonetown, a plaque erected by the Government of Ontario provides additional details about the early days. When opening Blanshard Township for settlement in 1839, the Canada Company made an arrangement with Thomas Ingersoll, in 1841-43 he erected a sawmill and a grist-mill and in return obtained 337 acres of land in this vicinity. The mills formed the nucleus of a settlement named St. Marys, the first library was opened in 1857, it belonged to the local Mechanics Institute but had no permanent home and had to rent space where it could

43.
Grand Trunk Railway
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The railway was operated from headquarters in Montreal, Quebec, with corporate headquarters in London, England. The Grand Trunk, its subsidiaries, and the Canadian Government Railways were precursors of todays Canadian National Railways, gTRs main line ran from Portland, Maine to Montreal, and then from Montreal to Sarnia, Ontario, where it joined its western subsidiary. The GTR had three important subsidiaries during its lifetime, Central Vermont Railway which operated in Quebec, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Grand Trunk Pacific Railway which operated in Northwestern Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia. Grand Trunk Western Railroad which operated in Michigan, Indiana, a new line to Providence would have allowed for more extensive port facilities than were possible for the Central Vermont at New London, Connecticut. Construction began in 1910 and continued in fits and starts for more than 20 years until finally abandoned in the early 1930s because of the Great Depression. Another important factor was the opposition of the New Haven Railroad. The company was incorporated on November 10,1852, as the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada to build a line between Montreal and Toronto. The charter was extended east to Portland, Maine and west to Sarnia. A line was built to Lévis, via Richmond from Montreal in 1855. In the same year it purchased the Toronto and Guelph Railroad, but the Grand Trunk Railway Company changed the original route of the T&G and extended the line to Sarnia, a hub for Chicago-bound traffic. By July,1856, the section from Sarnia to Toronto opened, by 1859 a ferry service was established across the St. Clair River to Fort Gratiot. The Grand Trunk was one of the factors that pushed British North America towards Confederation. The original colonial economy structured along the route from the Maritimes up the St. Lawrence River. The explosive growth in trade during the 1850s within the United Province of Canada, during this time the GTR extended its line to Lévis further east to Rivière-du-Loup. By 1860, the Grand Trunk was on the verge of bankruptcy, on the eve of the American Civil War, it stretched from Sarnia in the west to Rivière-du-Loup in the east and Portland in the southeast. Thus the British North America Act,1867 included the provision for an Intercolonial Railway to link with the Grand Trunk at Rivière-du-Loup, by 1880, the Grand Trunk Railway system stretched all the way from Portland in the east to Chicago, Illinois, in the west. Several impressive construction feats were associated with the GTR, the first successful bridging of the St. Clair River, connecting Sarnia, Ontario, the latter work opened in August 1890 and replaced the railcar ferry at the same location. S. To overcome the difference, the GTR experimented with a form of Variable gauge axles called adjustable gauge trucks

44.
North America Railway Hall of Fame
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North America Railway Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit organization housed in the recently restored Canada Southern Railway Station in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. After the acquisition in 2005 of NARHF’s permanent home further goals were added to mission statement, the North American Railway Hall of Fame was incorporated in 1996. There were ceremonies in 1999 and 2001 before the Hall of Fame bought their current home, since the acquisition of the Station as a home for NARFH, there have been induction ceremonies in 2006,2008,2010 and 2012 with additional inductions every two years. Originally, the first induction ceremonies of 1999 and 2001 took place at the St. Thomas Public Library, after the purchase of the Canada Southern Station, the destinies of the Hall of Fame and the former railway station became intertwined. In 2004, the North America Railway Hall of Fame purchased its permanent home, in 2005, ownership of the building was turned over to NARFH. The CASO Station, once near ruin, is almost completely restored, while the station was finished in 1873, the historical restoration point is approximately from 1914 to the early 1920s. Tours are self-guided or provided depending on availability of staff, visitors explore the history and unique design of the CASO Station as well as an array of station related period objects on display. The second floor houses the displays and exhibits for the North America Railway Hall of Fame, revenue is provided to The Hall of Fame through the renting of 2nd floor offices as well as Anderson Hall and the Ladies Waiting Room for meetings, weddings, receptions and more. The CASO Station also enjoys the status as an Ontario Heritage Trust Building, the induction process begins with a nomination. Anybody can make a nomination to the Hall of Fame by either contacting the Hall of Fame at the Canada Southern Railway Station or using the online nomination form at Hall of Fame website. Of course, all nominees need to have made a significant and appropriate contribution to the world of the trains. There were ceremonies in 1999 and 2001 before the Hall of Fame bought their current home, originally, the first induction ceremonies of 1999 and 2001 took place at the St. Thomas Public Library. Since the acquisition of the Station as a home for NARFH, inductees into the North America Hall of Fame can take the form of people, events, art forms equipment or a facility or structure. It could be the first or the last, of something or a defining work of art that contributes to the world of the railway. 2—the first engine built in Canada, American railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt, Grand Central Terminal, canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot shares a place of prominence in the Hall of Fame with the Brotherhood of Porters and Redcaps and Sir John A. Macdonald. All inductees are displayed virtually on the NARHF website, NARHF also has an interactive virtual device to learn more about those inducted into the Hall of Fame. A complete list of inductees is available at the List of North America Railway Hall of Fame inductees, official North America Railway Hall of Fame website Ontrackstthomas. ca, On Track — St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. London Heritage, Beyond the Blackboard — educational website, article & photos, Ontario Heritage Trust, Plaque Dedication & article

45.
Winnipeg
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Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is located near the centre of North America and is 110 kilometres from the U. S. border. It is also the place of the confluence of the Red, the city is named after the nearby Lake Winnipeg, the name comes from the Western Cree words for muddy water. The region was a centre for aboriginal peoples long before the arrival of Europeans. French traders built the first fort on the site in 1738, a settlement was later founded by the Selkirk settlers of the Red River Colony in 1812, the nucleus of which was incorporated as the City of Winnipeg in 1873. As of 2011, Winnipeg is the seventh most populated municipality in Canada, being located very far inland, the local climate is extremely seasonal even by Canadian standards with average January lows of around −21 °C and average July highs of 26 °C. Known as the Gateway to the West, Winnipeg is a railway, Winnipeg was the first Canadian host of the Pan American Games. It is home to professional sports franchises, including the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the Winnipeg Jets, Manitoba Moose. Winnipeg lies at the confluence of the Assiniboine and the Red River of the North and this point was at the crossroads of canoe routes travelled by First Nations before European contact. Winnipeg is named after nearby Lake Winnipeg, the name is a transcription of the Western Cree words for muddy or brackish water. Estimates of the date of first settlement in this area are varied, in 1805, Canadian colonists observed First Nations peoples engaged in farming activity along the Red River. The practice quickly expanded, driven by the demand by traders for provisions, the rivers provided an extensive transportation network linking northern First Peoples with those to the south along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. The Ojibwe made some of the first maps on birch bark, sieur de La Vérendrye built the first fur trading post on the site in 1738, called Fort Rouge. French trading continued at this site for decades before the arrival of the British Hudsons Bay Company after France ceded the territory following its defeat in the Seven Years War. Many French and later British men who were trappers married First Nations women, their mixed-race children hunted, traded and they gradually developed as an ethnicity known as the Métis because of sharing a traditional culture. Lord Selkirk was involved with the first permanent settlement, the purchase of land from the Hudsons Bay Company, the North West Company built Fort Gibraltar in 1809, and the Hudsons Bay Company built Fort Douglas in 1812, both in the area of present-day Winnipeg. The two companies competed fiercely over trade, the Métis and Lord Selkirks settlers fought at the Battle of Seven Oaks in 1816. In 1821, the Hudsons Bay and North West Companies merged, Fort Gibraltar was renamed Fort Garry in 1822 and became the leading post in the region for the Hudsons Bay Company

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Manitoba
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Manitoba is a province at the longitudinal centre of Canada. It is one of the three provinces and Canadas fifth-most populous province with its estimated 1.3 million people. Manitoba covers 649,950 square kilometres with a varied landscape. Aboriginal peoples have inhabited what is now Manitoba for thousands of years, in the late 17th century, fur traders arrived in the area when it was part of Ruperts Land and owned by the Hudsons Bay Company. In 1869, negotiations for the creation of the province of Manitoba led to an uprising of the Métis people against the Government of Canada. The rebellions resolution led to the Parliament of Canada passing the Manitoba Act in 1870 that created the province, Manitobas capital and largest city, Winnipeg, is Canadas eighth-largest census metropolitan area. Winnipeg is the seat of government, home to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, four of the provinces five universities and all four of its professional sports teams are in Winnipeg. The name Manitoba is believed to be derived from the Cree, the name derives from Cree manitou-wapow or Ojibwa manidoobaa, both meaning straits of Manitou, the Great Spirit, a place referring to what are now called The Narrows in the centre of Lake Manitoba. It may also be from the Assiniboine for Lake of the Prairie, the lake was known to French explorers as Lac des Prairies. Thomas Spence chose the name to refer to a new republic he proposed for the south of the lake. Métis leader Louis Riel also chose the name, and it was accepted in Ottawa under the Manitoba Act of 1870 and it adjoins Hudson Bay to the northeast, and is the only prairie province to have a saltwater coastline. The Port of Churchill is Canadas only Arctic deep-water port and the shortest shipping route between North America and Asia, Lake Winnipeg is the tenth-largest freshwater lake in the world. Hudson Bay is the worlds second-largest bay, Manitoba is at the heart of the giant Hudson Bay watershed, once known as Ruperts Land. It was a area of the Hudsons Bay Company, with many rivers. The province has a saltwater coastline bordering Hudson Bay and more than 110,000 lakes, Manitobas major lakes are Lake Manitoba, Lake Winnipegosis, and Lake Winnipeg, the tenth-largest freshwater lake in the world. Some traditional Native lands and boreal forest on Lake Winnipegs east side are a proposed UNESCO World Heritage Site. Manitoba is at the centre of the Hudson Bay drainage basin, with a volume of the water draining into Lake Winnipeg. This basins rivers reach far west to the mountains, far south into the United States, major watercourses include the Red, Assiniboine, Nelson, Winnipeg, Hayes, Whiteshell and Churchill rivers

The Prince Edward Island Railway (PEIR) was a historic Canadian railway on Prince Edward Island (PEI). The railway ran …

Image: Prince Edward Island Railway Map

Typical of the narrow-gauge engines that served the PEIR, Engine Number 1 was a compact machine with a 4-4-0 layout. These engines proved unsuccessful in mainline use, having been designed primarily for switching and yard use.

This steam engine left the rails near New Annan in 1903. No one was hurt, but another accident at the same location three years earlier scalded the engineer to death. Such accidents were common on the PEIR's narrow-gauge line, which was subject to shifts and frost heaves.

After re-gauging, the PEIR could support full-sized locomotives and trains. This example is pulling through the Maple Hill region in the spring of 1949.